


In This Reality

by AstroLatte



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adam is alive and living his best life, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Awkward Flirting, Because Allura Has That Power, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Black Paladin Lance (Voltron), F/F, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Gay Disaster Keith (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Insecure Lance (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Lotor and Lance save the Multiverse, M/M, Pining Keith (Voltron), Post S8, Reality Bending, Rewrite of S8, Slow Burn, The McClain siblings are crushing on Galra, The universe broke so we're fixing it, Time Travel, With the Power of Gay And Friendship, kind of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2019-11-16 10:32:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 66,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18092651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstroLatte/pseuds/AstroLatte
Summary: “You may be a goofy guy from Earth, but if there’s anyone who can support Allura during this it’s you,” Keith finally says softly, turning from the sunset to look at him. It makes Lance’s heart race and he swallows drily, hoping the blush that creeping on his face isn’t visible under Kosmo’s fur. “The annoying, stupid, Earth version of you.”While Honerva destroys realities, Lance finds himself going back in time to do things differently and is enlisted in helping an unlikely friend save the universe.





	1. Flashback

**Author's Note:**

> Is this story an excuse for me to write my two favorite pairings while also having Lotor and Lance become unlikely best friends forever? Yes, and what about it?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And something cracks inside Lance’s chest, like a dam that’s been holding something in, a trickle of truth escaping past his lips before he can stop it.
> 
> “Wanna come over to my house for dinner tonight?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from MIYAVI's "Flashback"

The universe shakes around Lance like an earthquake. He clenches his hand around the control of his lion, trying to ground himself as the world around him was spun into a colorful mess of images and sounds.

Sirens blaring loudly inside the cockpit, a familiar warning by now, are more panicked and screeching alongside the ringing in his ears. The connection to his lion wanes like a cable being stretched to its limits, just before it snaps.

He can’t remember where he’s come from, but he can recognize the voices in his ear - Pidge, Hunk, Shiro, Keith...but a voice is missing. One that said his name with an upward tilt, who’s laugh wrapped around his heart like a warm blanket, but rattled his nerves. He can’t remember her, he’s already losing his other memories.

Fighting off the panic that’s bubbling in his chest, Lance takes a deep breath before his mind is tugged backward.

* * *

 

Both feet land with a thud and when Lance opens his eyes, he’s staring at the boots of his Garrison uniform, standing on top of the Black Lion.

He’s winded, out of breath from scaling the massive robot, but soon sees the person he was looking for the entire time.

“You’re a hard guy to find when you wanna be,” he says, and on the front of the Black Lion Keith sits next to Kosmo. Keith doesn’t turn around, but it doesn’t stop Lance from swinging his legs over the top of the lion’s head to get next to him.

“Hey Lance,” Keith says, turning to him. Instantly his face turns into a familiar scowl, “What’s wrong?”

Lance pauses, looking down at his hands as if his boring Garrison uniform and empty palms will somehow hold the secret to how Keith was able to read him so quickly. He takes a seat next to him with a sigh, Kosmo’s big paws padding across the metal of the lion to nuzzle Lance affectionately.

“That obvious huh?” he smiles sadly, running his hands through Kosmo’s soft blue fur, staring at Keith from between tufts of hair. “I asked Allura to come to dinner at my folks for a date.”

“A date with Allura?” Keith’s eyebrow cocks up, his face twisting into a strange look that Lance figures is him attempting to smile. “Well done, Lance!”

“Eh, it didn’t go so hot,” he continues, resting his cheek against Kosmo’s fur. “She rejected me.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah...it makes sense with so much going on with the Altean pilot and us having to go back into space tomorrow.”

“Are you okay though?” Keith offers, and Lance can tell by the crack in his voice that the guy is swimming far out of his element. Typical Keith, trying so hard just to be supportive of his dumb bruised heart. “Like...do you wanna talk about it or something?”

“Not much to talk about, really.”

“Well, if you’re sure-”

“I mean,” Lance interrupts with a sigh. “I thought this would hurt more, but in the end, I was just relieved to get an answer.”

“Makes sen-”

“I guess it was like closure for something I didn’t realize I needed,” Lance continues, barreling through his thoughts all at once. “Like, I knew she was gonna say no and I needed to hear it.”

“So, are you okay or-”

“What Allura needs right now more than a boyfriend is a friend.”

“Lance-”

“I’m just a goofy guy from Earth-”

“Lance, stop!” Keith interrupts, hand up to signal stop. He’s using his Black Paladin voice, which has somehow programmed itself into Lance’s brain so he instantly listens.

“You may be a goofy guy from Earth, but if there’s anyone who can support Allura during this it’s you,” Keith finally says softly, lowering his hand to look at him. It makes Lance’s heart race and he swallows drily, hoping the blush that creeping on his face isn’t visible under Kosmo’s fur. “The annoying, stupid, Earth version of you.”

A pause rests between them, and from the corner of his eye, Lance could’ve sworn he saw Keith shift in his seat. Around them, a cool desert breeze passes, making the hairs on the back of Lance’s neck prick, leaving goosebumps on his skin

“Thanks, man,” Lance laughs and can’t help but look forward at the scene in front of him, releasing Kosmo to return to his perch next to Keith  “You watching the sunset?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m really gonna miss this place.”

“That’s why we gotta end this war, and we’re gonna do it with the Lance that’s the paladin of the Red Lion,” Keith says turning to him, meeting his eyes. “The Lance who always has my back, and the Lance who knows exactly who he is and what he’s got to offer.”

Lance looks back and for the first time in however long they’ve orbiting the other, from petty rivals to paladins to co-leaders of Voltron, finally allowed himself to really look at Keith Kogane. The way his eyes reminded him of a calm storm over a raging sea, the way his lips were always slightly chapped from him biting them when he was nervous, and the way his face always managed to give away all his tells when he was lying or holding back.

And something cracks inside Lance’s chest, like a dam that’s been holding something in, a trickle of truth escaping past his lips before he can stop it.

“Wanna come over to my house for dinner tonight?”

Keith blinks, “Uh...like _tonight_ tonight?”

“Yeah, I mean I dunno about you, but after tonight my calendar is pretty full with universe defending stuff,” Lance says, hoping he can talk his way out of the sudden bout of awkwardness. “Unless you got anything else better to do than eat some amazing home cooking and hear embarrassing childhood stories about yours truly.”

“I do enjoy entertainment at your expense,” Keith smirks, tilting his head. “Are you sure though? I know this was supposed to be your date with Allura and all that.”

“What, you scared of being a rebound?”

Keith snorts, “Can’t be a rebound for something that didn’t happen.”

“Rude! My heart is still tender, Keith!”

“Yeah yeah,” Keith turns to him with a laugh. “Fine, I’ll go. I didn’t have anything else planned for tonight anyway.”

“Wow, I am so honored that you fit me into your busy schedule of nothing,” Lance says, pulling himself up to his feet. “I’ll text you my address. Dinner starts at 7:00, and make sure you look nice.”

Keith looks down at his dusty uniform, “What do you mean by that?”

“You know what I mean, Mr. I-Think-Knives-Are-An-Accessory,” Lance tosses over his shoulder. “If I’m gonna bring home the Black Paladin of Voltron for dinner, at least look the part.”

Later that night, Lance barely manages to avoid his sisters teasing as he gets ready for dinner.

“Ohhhhh look at Lancey wearing his nice button down with the pretty blue sweater that brings out his eyes,” Rachel croons, flopping onto his bed as Lance looks at himself in the mirror. “Is the Princess coming after all?”

“A little birdie told me that the Princess said no to our darling brother,” Veronica says, leaning against his door frame, talking to Rachel as if Lance wasn’t two feet in front of her and it wasn’t his bedroom. “It’s a bummer, her friend was cute.”

“The guy with the mustache?”

“No, you weirdo, the long blonde haired girl!” Veronica rolls her eyes. “Did you and Lance have to share a brain cell in the womb?”

“Yeah and I got most of it,” Lance says turning around to start rummaging through his sock drawer, dodging the pillow that Rachel sends soaring across the bedroom. “Don’t you two have better things to do than hang around my room?”

“When you have a mystery guest coming over who isn’t the girl who you originally asked?” Rachel leans her elbow on her crossed knees. “As if there’s something better, Lancey.”

“It’s not a big deal, I told you guys that.”

“Uhh huhhh,” Veronica says turning around to leave. “I’m sure it’s no big deal that that kid who you would complain about for hours back at the Garrison and fill all your letters home about finally coming over for dinner is no big deal, huh?”

Lance groans, pressing his forehead against his drawer, knowing that Veronica just unpinned a grenade and walked away. “V! C’mon!”

“Oh my god, no!” Rachel squeals, hopping off the bed and taking her twin by the shoulders. “Lance, you didn’t tell us that your mystery guest was _Keith._ ”

“I did, but none of you listened and started calling him the mystery guest instead,” Lance explains and Rachel dismissively waves in response.

“Small details, but this is major!” she grins, leaning back on the heels of her feet. “Now that I know the severity of the situation, I will now kindly allow you and Keith to sit at the main table, and I will take your place next to Nadia and Silvio at the kiddie table.”

“You know Mom was gonna make you do that anyway, right?”

“Yes, but now I am doing it without complaining!”

“Oh wow,” Lance deadpans. “I am so blessed to have a sister as amazing and selfless as you, Rach.”

“I know,” she winks, just as the doorbell rings. Rachel jumps to her feet, sprinting out of the bedroom to the hallway, “Oh! Looks like your not-boyfriend is here!”

“Rachel!” he groans and just hears giggling in the hallway followed by his mother calling his name to come down.

Quickly slipping on his socks, Lance makes his way down the stairs, careful not to seem too eager (and risk sliding down the steps and tumbling in front of the door) he made his way down to where his mother had opened the door. For a second Lance's eyes grow fuzzy, and he rubs his eyes quickly. When he opens them again, he sees Keith, looking as awkward as ever, standing in their doorway.

And here’s the thing, Lance knows that Keith is handsome. Like, every girl (and some guys) had made that fact very apparent before Keith punched Iverson and got himself expelled. Even though he wasn’t in a single Voltron Coalition show, Keith was always one of the most popular paladins, and it drove Allura crazy to have to keep signing autographs for him long after they had stopped doing shows.

But the Keith that’s standing in his doorway is a different level of handsome. His hair is pulled back into a short, low ponytail that gives the illusion of organized chaos, his Garrison uniform is replaced with a gray muscle fit ribbed roll turtleneck sweater, sleeves rolled up to show off a gorgeous watch (as well as very nicely toned forearms) and black jeans so tight Lance wonders how Keith managed to fit his wallet in the pockets.

“Hey,” he greets, giving a tiny wave. “Do I pass the dress code?”

“Yeah man, totally,” he laughs, digging his hands into his own jean pockets. “Nice watch. I didn’t know you owned anything that stylish.”

“That’s cause I don’t, this is Shiro’s,” Keith explains, pointing at his wrist. “He said with the new arm, having a watch on it just felt like overkill.”

“I can see that,” Lance smiles with a nod and then they stood in an awkward silence before Keith clears his throat.

“You look...nice,” he points to Lance’s powder blue sweater over his collared shirt. “Blue suits you.”

“Aw, thanks man,” Lance grins, thumbing behind him. “C’mon, let me introduce you to everyone.”

Keith nods and follows, and quickly Lance goes through the names of his siblings (most of whom he knows because of their stint in the Garrison hospital) and lastly his parents.

“Thank you for allowing me over, Mr. and Mrs. McClain,” Keith says, before handing them a tin box of cookies. “I didn’t want to come empty-handed, so I bought dessert.”

“Hope Shiro didn’t help you make those,” Lance notes, leaning over to the container with a skeptical brow arch. “The last time he tried to bake cookies, he almost burnt down the entire castle ship.”

“No, Mrs. Holt helped me,” Keith replies and Veronica’s head shoots up.

“No way...don’t tell me those are Colleen Holt’s famous oatmeal raisin cookies?” she squeals, taking a peek under the top of the tin before gasping. “They are! Oh my gosh, she hasn’t made these since the Kerberos Mission! She wouldn’t even tell any of us the recipe...I’ve been waiting years for these cookies!”

“Really? She just gave them to me after I asked if she had any good dessert ideas,” Keith says, looking down at the tin. “I didn’t know they were special or anything.”

“Thank you for the cookies, Keith. We’ll be sure to have them tonight after dinner,” Lance’s mother says, taking the tin from him. “Now everyone, take your seats. Lance, you remember where you and your guest will be sitting?”

Rachel gave him a thumbs up, which Lance ignored.

“Of course, Mamá,” he says turning to Keith. “C’mon, let’s sit down.”

Lance leads Keith to the dining room table, taking a seat next to him as his family members follow suit. Having Keith sitting next to him shouldn't make him as nervous as it does, they regularly sat next to the other on the castle for meals and even during Garrison briefings as head and second-in-command of Voltron.

Being together with Keith felt like a package deal most days, but seeing him at his family's dinner table, eating his mother's food and laughing at his siblings’ jokes, felt different. Like this was a new level for the two of them, similar to the one they reached when they first switched lions.

Luis was just wrapping up a story about how Lance and his siblings would adopt stray cats around Varadero Beach when Veronica leered over her wine glass with a mischievous smile that Lance knew meant trouble.

“Okay spill it, V. You look too happy over there.”

“It just seems like you have such nice taste in friends, Lance,” she says, casually. “Do you think you can introduce me to that long-haired friend of yours?”

“Which one?” he asks, narrowing his eyes. “I already told you Matt Holt is dating that cyborg rebel.”

“Their name is N7, Lance,” Keith says, leaning over. “Do you mean, Romelle?”

“Excuse you, Keith, since when are you Mr. Matchmaker?” Lance tries to shoo Keith away with his fork, and instead, the other boy grabs his wrist and lowered it to the table, resting his warm hand on his and causing Lance's mind to melt, hyperfocused on their now touching hands.

Keith and Veronica ignore his crisis.

“No, not Romelle. The taller girl,” Veronica motions to her head. “She has the horns, purple hair? I think she's part Galra?”

“Oh, that's Acxa!” Keith smiles, happy to recognize the name. “She's a friend of mine, actually.”

_Friend._

The word floats around in Lance's head like a bee stuck in a hot car. It was no secret that after coming to Earth, Acxa and Keith had become close. Lance had seen them walking around the Garrison grounds with Krolia a few times. If Lance didn't know any better, and he really didn't, he would think something was going on between them.

And that really wasn't fair of Lance considering 12 hours earlier he had attempted to poorly invite Allura to this very same dinner. If Keith wanted to have a cute Galra girlfriend, then who was Lance to judge?

“She's going to be part of the ATLAS crew for the mission.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, I'll be happy to introduce you tomorrow during boarding,” Keith continues and Lance can’t help but notice his hand was still on top of his. Should he wiggle out? Did he kind of sort of like it?

“Aw thanks, Keith!” Veronica grins, tipping her glass to Keith so he could clink their glasses in small cheers. She turns to Lance, “For your first time bringing someone home, Lancey, you sure did bring a good one.”

“Veronica!”

Lance groans but hearing the low chuckle of Keith's laughter, albeit at his expense, makes something new flutter in his chest. It's different than what he usually felt around Allura, there's less sense of dread or worry. With Keith, he feels a strange sense of security. That nothing was gonna happen to him while they were together.

Dinner passes quickly with everyone sharing stories and Keith asking questions about their family’s farm and their plans now that Earth was liberated from the Galra. Veronica gave a final toast to family and Lance’s mother demanded that after their mission they bring Krolia and Kolivan over next.

“I wanna braid his hair!” Nadia announces from her seat by Rachel as she gathers her dishes. “Tell him I have lots of clips he can choose, okay?”

Keith smiles, “With an offer like that I don’t think he could say no.”

“Could you imagine Kolivan with butterflies in his hair?” Lance snickers grabbing a handful of dishes to hand to his brother in the kitchen.

“No, but that makes it even funnier.”

They laugh and finish cleaning before Lance’s mother practically throws them both outside insisting, “It’s a beautiful night for your last night home. Lance, show your friend the trees out here. He’s probably never seen those in the desert.”

“Oh very subtle, Mamá,” Marco snickers before being pitched by Luis. “Ow!”

Lance takes that as his cue to leave, grabbing Keith by the shoulder towards the door and calling back, “We’ll be back in a few, don’t eat all the cookies!”

“No promises!” Rachel and Veronica answer and with a final dramatic sigh he closes the door behind him, turning to Keith with a huff.

“I’m starting to think Allura was onto something when she skipped out on this dinner,” he shook his head as they walked down the porch steps together. “Sorry about all that in there. I’m the youngest so everyone really likes to gang up on me, and they were excited by the fresh blood.”

“It’s fine, I like your family. They were good company those months when we were stuck in the Garrison hospital.” Keith shoves his hands in his pockets, which must have a transreality function because they are too tight to fit hands. “I can see why you missed them so much.”

Lance can’t help but smile, “You remember that?”

“I mean, yeah,” Keith turns away slightly, scratching his face in what Lance has now learned to be one of his many nervous tells. “You talked about them a lot."

“Heh, I didn’t know you paid attention to that stuff.”

“I always pay attention to you.”

They both pause mid-step, under the street lights surrounded by dead trees around them. Lance doesn’t know why, but the spot is giving him a strange sense of deja vu. Like he’s been here before or lived this scene before.

Keith turns to him, his eyes steely and under the night sky every bit of his features stand out. From his thick brows, the slightly crooked nose, and his lips that are a little chapped even though Lance keeps badgering him about it.

Swallowing hard, Lance can feel the energy between them shift. His stomach drops in a mix of nerves and anticipation. It’s as if he’s leaning over the edge of the cliff, looking over some unknown horizon. He should be more nervous, maybe even terrified, because this is Keith. The guy he’s threatened to throw into a wormhole, the guy he’s fought tooth and nail over every little thing, the guy who taught him how to get over himself and who reminds him his importance and value to their team to the point that Lance can start to see it too.

There’s been a part of Lance, a dark part, that he’s been trying to bury for months by hyperfixating on his crush on Allura and getting back to Earth and fighting the Galra. It was the part of him that felt his heart tug when Keith was dividing himself from their team and eventually left. It was the part of him that sang whenever he saw him appear on the video monitor during their calls with Kovilan, and eventually when he came home. It was the part of him that felt hurt when he came back and brushed him aside but also confused when he chose to save him out of everyone else during Bob’s ridiculous game show.

It’s what his lion told him wordlessly when he first activated his bayard into this console, forming Voltron’s wings, and knowing that Keith was on the other side.

Eventually, that part became too big and when he went to find Keith on top of his lion today, whether Lance knew it or not, it's why he invited him to dinner tonight in place of the girl he thought he was in love with all this time.

“Uh...thanks for inviting me tonight,” Keith starts, shaky hands removing themselves from his pockets. Hesitantly he reaches his hand out for a second, and Lance is sure he’s going in for a handshake because Keith would since he’s that _weird_ , but instead Keith runs his hand through his dark bangs, pushing them away from his forehead. “It was nice.”

“Yeah, it was,” Lance nods turning to look at the trees in front of them, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’re actually pretty good company, all things considered.”

Keith arches an eyebrow, slightly annoyed, “You’re just realizing that?”

“You know what I mean,” he laughs, shaking his head a bit as the other boy deflates. “It’s funny, Shiro told us to spend tonight with those we care about. My family was obvious, and I thought Allura was too...but now here we are.”

“Here we are,” Keith echoes, voice a sigh. “Look, Lance-”

“Meeting you changed my life, y’know,” Lance interrupts, looking over his shoulder to see Keith’s gobsmacked face. “Not just the whole saving Shiro thing.”

“You mean at the Garrison?” he asks and Lance nods, leaving Keith looking slightly uneasy. “When I dropped out?”

“Sort of,” Lance says, walking forward to the trees. “I know you don’t remember, but we were in the same simulator class as Junior Cadets. I was there when you punched Griffin in the nose during practicals.”

“He deserved it.”

“Oh totally, he was a prick when we were younger.”

“He's still kind of a prick, but at least he's on our side.”

“No kidding,” Lance smiles wistfully, turning around on the heel of his shoe and crossing his arms over his chest. “Did you know I studied for weeks for the fighter pilot exam?”

Keith shakes his head, and Lance would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy how Keith squirmed in guilt just a little bit.

“Veronica managed to let me do extra drills in the simulator by booking it behind Shiro's back and Hunk stayed up with me to go over flashcards,” he looked down at his shoes. “When I didn't make the cut, I went to Iverson's office to ask what I did wrong and I'll never forget what he said.” Lance squeezes shut one of his eyes and grumbles in a mocking impression, “ _This isn't a participation game, Cadet, this is war and you need your best men on the front line. When there are too many pilots and not enough fighter jets, the best thing you can do is step aside_ …sound familiar?”

Keith's shoulders fall, his eyes wide in complete shock, “The lion switch…”

“Yup, so that was a bit of deja vu,” he sighs, his arms falling to his sides again and looking up at the stars. “When I saw your name on the list of fighter pilots, man, I was livid. You were a shoot first, ask questions later, short-tempered jerk and yet because you were _you_ it didn't matter. You got in and you didn't even seem to want it that much.”

Lance feels something warm take his hand, and when he turns he sees it's Keith, looking at him with that same steely expression. His eyes shining in the light of the street lamps, his dark brows furrowed.

“When I left the team to help Kolivan find the quintessence line, and Allura asked if I was pulling back was because I didn't want to pilot the Black Lion, I told her that was part of it,” he says, voice shaky. “The other part was...because I knew you would never ask for the Blue Lion back from Allura, and for that same reason I could never ask for Red.”

“I told you that I was ready to give him back to--”

Keith shakes his head, “I couldn't do that, Lance. Even before you came into my room to talk...it was after that I remembered what you said about getting my spot at the Garrison after I washed out.”

“No…” Lance gasps. “Don't tell me...that you were sabotaging yourself so Black would reject you just so I could have a spot?”

The way Keith's face twists is all the confirmation Lance needs.

“Oh no, Keith…”

“I’d do it again too, I don’t regret it,” Keith asserts. “Even though it hurt you, I’d do it again so you wouldn’t feel like you didn’t have a place on the team.”

“But you deserved to be part of Voltron, the Black Lion choose you!”

“And the Red Lion choose you and the Blue Lion did, too! And you flew both of them masterf-”

“That’s not the same and you know it!”

“Would you stop interrupting me and listen to me for a change?” Keith fights, holding on to his hand tighter like he’s grounding him from floating away. Lance exhales and lets him continue. “I never said this and I should have but...I’m sorry for not remembering you when we first saved Shiro. I honestly don’t know how I could because you’re so loud and obnoxious you take up all the space in every room you’re in. You’re bright like the sun and I can feel the room shift when you enter because you just...have this way about you that things are better when you’re there. And I hate that so much of our history together has been us fighting or competing.”

“Why? You always won.”

“No, I didn’t,” he sighs, looking up at him. “Not always...not when it mattered.”

“Keith, what are you talking about?”

A muscle twitches involuntarily at the corner of his right eye, Keith’s mouth forms into the kind of rigid grimace that Lance hasn’t seen in years. He’s fighting to keep making eye contact with Lance, and by how tightly he’s holding onto his hand he may start breaking some bones. Keith takes a deep breath, steadying himself.

“I know you think I ran away, and maybe I did...because I...I...I lov-”

And that's when it hits.

The world around him slows like he's living in slow motion. The familiar bubble of panic rises in his throat like bile, as everything narrows.

“Keith!” he calls, hoping the attention of the other boy can stop this. “Keith, do you feel this?”

But his face is staring at him, frozen midword like a clockwork toy with its batteries pulled.

Lance shifts his hand away to try to reach out to the other boy's face, but he's yanked backward by the back of his neck by _something_. He screams, flailing in the air in vain as his vision of Keith becomes smaller and smaller and the word behind him darker and darker.

“KEITH!”

He lands unceremoniously on his back with a groan, and by the way his head spins he may be mildly concussed.

“Oh, it looks like your experiment worked,” Lance hears a familiar voice drone. “I should've never doubted you.”

No way...that can’t be...

“There was a 14.6% chance of his body deteriorating from the jump, but it appears all his human organs have remained in his human body! That's a success that only 5% of universes can see!”

Okay, that's definitely Slav.

But the other voice…

“Is that...Lotor?” Lance asks, opening his eyes to see the blurry vision of Slav and the infamous Galra Prince come into focus.

“Yes, welcome back to the rift, Paladin,” he says, crouching over with his arm slung over his knee. “We have much to discuss.”


	2. Countdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It is how we were able to lock onto Voltron's energy and use the power from the rift to pull your essence from your original reality and transfer you to that reality. Do you follow?”
> 
> “I got, like, 40% of that.”
> 
> “Comforting to know we’re in such capable hands.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from Beyoncé's "Countdown"

Blinking, Lance attempts to regain his bearings, his hand gripping the base of his bayard tightly while Lotor leans over him. He jumps to his feet.

“SLAV, GET BEHIND ME!” Lance shrieks, his bayard instantly transforming into a blaster, as he swings backward, thrusting the barrel into the face of his assailant, pulling Slav behind him. When Lotor doesn’t move, and he’s instead met with an arch of an eyebrow staring at him skeptically, Lance knows he’s pretty screwed.

“Honestly? You think I brought you here to harm you?”

“Wait...you brought me here?” Lance echoes and looks up at Slav who’s taken a few steps back towards Lotor. He looks around them, “Where is...here?”

A cool breeze blows his bangs just enough that he could see the space beyond. The world around them was like a mirror showing different hues of pinks and purple. Small dark entities float around them like dandelions in the wind. It looks like they are nowhere, but it feels like they are _everywhere_.

“ _Here_ is the quintessence rift between realities,” Lotor says, moving Lance’s blaster away from his face with two clawed hands. “The prison you all trapped me in three deca-phobes ago and the place my mother is using as her own personal reality-altering machine.”

“And we need your assistance, Paladin,” Slav says, eyes bulging. “Or else there is a near certainty that this and every reality will be destroyed forever!”

Now, Lance is used to waking up and finding himself in weird situations.

During his tenure as a paladin he’s been handcuffed to his fellow teammates over dinner, handcuffed to a tree while trying woo a pretty alien girl, blindfolded and handcuffed by mermaid rebels on an underwater planet….actually, the amount of times he’s been handcuffed seems to be a common denominator and maybe he should do some deep soul searching about that when he has the time.

Maybe after he’s figured out what the hell is going on.

So, he sits on the ground (thankfully not handcuffed this time), legs crossed and patiently listens while his enemy-turned-friend-turned-one-time-love-rival-turned-enemy-again talks about different realities.

“Now let me get this straight,” Lance says to Lotor after he and Slav explained themselves, pointing to the vast empty space, the floating purple creatures swarming around them. “This is the rift between realities?”

“Correct.”

“And from this rift between realities, you can enter and exit different realities, including some that are very similar except some key details are different?”

“Correct.”

“And the reality that I was just in was, in fact, not the reality I was in when I entered this…” Lance pauses, squinting his eyes. “Rift dimension waiting room?”

“For lack of a better way to describe this in the limited time we have, yes that is correct,” Lotor turns to Slav. “Is there anything else you’d like to add for our new companion, Slav?”

“Do you mean aside from the fact that Honerva is systematically destroying all realities one by one?” Slav shrieks growing taller next to Lotor. “And unless the Blue Paladin can have certain outcomes occur in the precise order to ensure that we are in the one reality where we succeed, or otherwise the entire universe is doomed?” He’s at his full height, which is close to Lotor’s but the number of hands flailing gives him the appearance of being larger. “WHERE WE ONLY HAVE A .000000008% CHANCE OF THIS PLAN ACTUALLY WORKING?”

Slav is now hunched over Lotor, who seems unfazed by the outburst, shaking him as he yells into his face. With a sigh, Lotor turns to Lance.

“Did you get that or do we need to explain this again?”

“Nope, I’m good,” Lance gave a lazy thumbs up before motioning his head to Slav. “I know why you’re here, but why is Slav here?”

Slav’s beak opens in astonishment, obviously insulted by the idea that his presence would be questioned in regards to anything that affects multiple realities. That’s understandable, considering Slav’s entire life’s work is about calculating just how likely it was that something terrible was going to happen, and the destruction of the entire known universe was pretty awful.

“There is a Slav in every reality,” he explains pulling away from Lotor. “And after my present reality was destroyed by Honerva, Lotor managed to connect to my Quintessence and pull me into the rift before my reality shattered. It was a feat that had less than a minuscule chance of working!”

“In this rift, we are between realities, meaning that we are encompassing all the Quintessence and ability of our past and future selves, regardless of which of the once near infinite realities we currently reside,” Lotor continues, staring at Lance. “It is how we were able to lock onto Voltron's energy and use the power from the rift to pull your essence from your original reality and transfer you to that reality. Do you follow?”

“I got, like, 40% of that.”

“Comforting to know we’re in such capable hands,” Lotor snarks, sarcasm dripping from the words as he turns to Slav. “There’s only one reason why we’d all be here, and that’s my mother’s doing.”

“What is Honerva doing trying to destroy realities?” Lance asks, jumping to his feet and getting in Lotor’s face. “Seems like that’s counterproductive to her whole universe domination thing if the universe is -” he makes an explosion motion with his hands. “Poof!”

“Do you remember what happened before we extracted you from that reality?”

“I...uh…” Lance feels his face flush. “Was having a conversation with a... _friend._ ”

Lotor turns away from him, eyes narrowing and lips pursing into a thin line. Next to him, Slav leans over to whisper into his ear loud enough for Lance to hear.

“Based on his accelerated heart rate and coy behavior, there’s a 98% chance that the friend he is speaking about is the current Black Paladin, Keith.”

“HEY! DON’T SPY ON OTHER PEOPLE’S REALITIES!”

“Paladin, I need you to focus,” Lotor groans, pushing Slav off of him.

“But why me?” Lance demands, trying to make sense of not only multiple realities but transferring between them like train cars. “Pidge and Hunk are the brainy duo, and Keith or Shiro would be better in a fight.”

“Because you are the only person who has been able to seamlessly enter and exit that particular reality, and if we are going to defeat my mother I need you to be completely honest with us.”

“Just like you were so honest about draining the Alteans like they were batteries?” Lance shoots back, eyebrow arched and Lotor physically recoils. “Why should I be honest with _you_ , of all people?”

“Because this isn’t for me,” Lotor explains, face stern. “It’s for Allura.”

Lotor’s glare is the only message he needs, and Lance knows that anything afterward would be like pulling teeth. He can tell by Lotor’s eyes he’s sincere, even though he wouldn’t trust him with a spoon.

Lance’s feelings for Allura spanned deca-phobes at this point, pulling in and out of his heart like a wave hitting the shore. Although in the reality he remembers she didn’t return those feelings, it didn’t mean he had stopped loving her, even if it's slowly becoming clearer that they weren’t meant to be _in love_ with each other.

But for Lotor…

Lance didn’t know a lot about the once exiled Galra Prince other than what he experienced first-hand when they were allies. He was intelligent, an expert pilot, a decent hand to have in a fight and had hair that made him squirm with envy. (Did he deep condition or was Galra hair just like that?)

Regardless, even with everything he knew and didn’t know about the Altean Colony, it was obvious that Lotor’s feelings for Allura were based on something true, and that was something they had in common.

For now, that was enough for Lance. And just because they were stuck in the rift together didn’t mean he had to suddenly like this guy.

“Fine, I’ll help, but no more poking around in my realities or my head, you hear me?” Lance demands, raising up to his feet, hands on his hips. “And I’m doing this for Allura, not you.”

“Fair enough,” Lotor turns to Slav. “It appears we have ourselves a quorum.”

“Excellent, now our chances of success have increased from .000000008% to .000000009%.“

“Aw look at me, adding a percentage to this bonkers plan,” Lance grins and is about to make another joke when there’s a crash. He braces himself as the world around them shakes violently. Shifting his bayard to a sword, he stabs it into the ground to steady himself. Lotor does the same with his sword, grabbing onto Slav who’s started shrieking again.

“What's causing these earthquakes?” he calls to Lotor who’s trying his hardest to keep from smothering Slav with his hand, white hair flying in front of his face as he grits his teeth, fangs barring.

“My mother,” he groans before turning to Lance. “And depending on which reality you’ve set up, either your or my lover.”

“Why would Keith be fighting Honerva?” Lance then took a second to think. “And since when did you and Keith have a thing?”

“This is no time for your jokes, Paladin,” Lotor says unamused, but one look at Lance gives him pause. “Wait...you're being earnest aren't you? You really don't remember?”

“Remember what?!”

“Stars...this means it's worse than I feared,” Lotor groans, pulling his sword from the ground and slicing the seemingly endless walls around them, breaking through what looked to be a reality curtain. A burst of dark purple rift entities bleeds out like he cut an artery.

“YOU FOOL! YOU MUSTN’T DAMAGE REALITY MORE THAN IT ALREADY IS!” Slav screams as gusts of wind blow through, pushing out against them

“We don’t have time to lead him to another gateway,” Lotor yells turning to Lance as a bright purple light flows through the tear and over his shoulder. He stabs the ground again and pulls a small device from his armor.

“GIVING HIM THE RIFT GATE PROJECTOR IS AN EVEN WORSE IDEA!”

“We don’t have time to be precious, either!” Lotor yells, turning to Lance and forcing the small device in his hand. It feels like a metal badge with a button in the middle. “You must keep going throughout this timeline, it’s the only one that leads to our success. If you can remember anything, you _must_ get me out of the rift, do you understand? It's the only way to stop this and save Allura!”

“Save her from what?!” Lance yells as the turbulence worsened, the light getting brighter. “Lotor, what am I supposed to do once I’m back?”

“The opposite of what you did before!”

“Oh, that’s really helpful, asshole!”

Lotor looks like he's going to smirk in amusement, but a thought hits him.

"And whatever you do, _do not_ lose the Rift Gate Projector!"

When Lance blinks, the whiteness takes him too.

* * *

 

This is going to sound insane, but for lack of a better way to describe the sensation, Lance feels himself land back into his body.

Though his eyes are open, his heart is pounding, mind empty. It's as if a hypodermic injection of adrenaline has been emptied into his veins. He strained out of the darkness, his breathing rate beginning to steady as Keith’s continues to stammer from their conversation earlier.

“I know you think I ran away, and maybe I did,” Keith begins again like he was an old video that was set on rewind and play. “Because I...I...I lov-”

Lance takes a deep breath as if breathing life back into his own lungs, and instantly begins coughing. Panting and leaning over, it’s enough to cut Keith off from whatever it was he was saying as takes hold of both his arms to steady him.

“Lance? Are you okay?” Keith asks, and his eyes are so wide with worry Lance feels a wave of guilt wash over him. He tries to nod and pull from Keith's hold, but he just tightens.

As his coughing settles, Lance looks around slowly, searching for any indication that whatever just happened was real. Maybe a scar from the tear in reality left behind, or even a wayward rift entity who may have followed Lance out. But it's just him and Keith alone in the park.

Was that some sort of hallucination?

There’s a clattering noise and Lance’s already tattered nerves send him jumping backward with a yelp, letting go of Keith’s hand as he motions to his hip for the bayard that isn’t there.

Right, he’s back in his civilian clothes.

Keith is already squaring up, ready to fight until the cause of the noise makes itself known as Beezer, who gotten itself caught in the bushes. The robot makes a whirring noise, helplessly.

“Beezer? What are you doing here?” Keith asks, face still flushed from whatever he was about to confess to Lance a second earlier. Lance walks past him and helps the robot out of the shrubbery.

“Knowing our friends, I’m sure it was Pidge trying to spy on us or something,” he sighs, leaning back once the robot is upright. The robot beeps happily, whirling around Lance and Keith until they’re corralled next to each other.

“I think it wants us to take a picture.”

“We don’t have to listen to it, it’s a robot. We’re bigger than it and have weapons.”

“Just shut up and smile, Keith.”

He relents and shuffles closer. Beezer’s flash appears and Lance quickly wraps an arm around the other boy's neck and jokes, “Say Voltron!"

“No!” Keith laughs, pushing into him.  
  
The flash from the front-facing camera snaps and Beezer rolls over to them as Lance sees the picture print out, taking it before Beezer rolls away and out of the park. Turning it in his hands, he's confused by what he sees.

It's a picture of him and Allura pressed tightly together with thin smiles. They're in the same park they're in now and Lance is wearing the same outfit he's wearing now, but instead of Keith, it's Allura in a flowy cream dress.

“Lemme see,” Keith says behind him and Lance feels his stomach drop in a panic when he snatches the picture from his hand.

“Wait-”

Keith's eyes soften when he looks at the picture, a crooked smile gracing his features before he turns back at him, “It came out nice.”

Confused, Lance takes the photo back to see that the picture had changed. Now it's him smiling widely while Keith is pulled into his neck, laughing from Lance's silly joke.

What was that original picture...unless that stuff before wasn't a dream.

And this was a new reality.  
  
The thought leaves Lance's mind the second he sees Keith lean near his face.

“You can have it,” he says, motioning to the picture in Lance's hands. “Keep it in Red.”

Lance raises an eyebrow skeptically, “You scared he forgot about you after I've been piloting him all this time?”

“As if that would ever happen,” Keith says, turning to leave the park. “Wanna head back before your sisters eat the cookies I brought?”

“Sure,” Lance says, sticking the picture in his back pocket and feels something cool against his palm. Pulling it out, he finds a small metal device with a button in the middle.

“Holy crow…” he gasps, looking at it in the dark night.  He hears Keith call his name and shakes his head, putting the device back in his pocket.

He'll deal with _that_ later.

Lance catches up to Keith and falls into an easy step next to the other boy. “Hey, what were you gonna say before I had that coughing fit?”

Keith's shoulders stiffen at the question. His lips purse tightly as he looks at Lance from the corner of his eye. There's a tension around him, like a cat being dangled above water, as he debates internally what to say. Eventually, he lets out a low sigh.

“Just that I like having you as my co-lead,” he says finally. “We make a good team.”

Lance can tell that Keith's holding back, because he can read him like a book and that has saved their lives countless times. But he also trusts Keith to tell him everything he needs to know, even if it takes time to get there.

“Aww, Keith!” Lance throws an arm over his shoulder, smiling brightly. “So much for not wanting to spend eternity with me, huh?”

“That still stands, because you're still annoying,” he groans trying to wiggle out. “Move your arm, it's hard to walk like this!”

“Not until you admit you wouldn't mind spending eternity with me!”

“Lance!”

They make their way back to Lance's house and are surprised to see that there are leftover cookies waiting for them. Since his family has already wrapped up and gone to bed or settled in for the night, Lance enjoys the last bit of solo time he gets with Keith before they head back out. They chat comfortably about nothing in particular, the Garrison, their families, that ridiculous cartoon they made of their adventures.

“Did you know they're trying to make you and Allura the main romance?”

Keith nearly chokes on his tea, “Me and _Allura?!_ ”

Lance laughs until he cries as Keith dramatically pulls out his phone to look up the show in a huff. Once the clock in the living room strikes ten, Keith gets up from his seat.

“I should get going, we have a big day tomorrow,” he says turning to the door and Lance follows him to where his shoes sit.

“Yeah...thanks again for coming,” he smiles as Keith laces up his boots quickly and stands to grab his jacket. “For a rebound, you ain't half bad.”

“I'll make sure to tell Allura you said that during boarding tomorrow.”

“Hey, be nice to your cartoon girlfriend!”

Keith laughs and looks back at Lance. Their stares linger for what feels like a long time and Lance isn't sure what to do. Should they hug? Shake hands? Eventually, Keith breaks the tension by patting Lance's shoulder in a sign of bro-ish intimacy.

“Night, Lance.”

“G’night, Keith.”

When he leaves, Lance closes the door behind him and watches as he makes his way back to the Black Lion, booting it up before shooting off back to the Garrison. In the back of his mind, he feels Red push, signaling a pang of sadness to be separated from his sibling as he sits alone on the farm.

“Wow, no goodnight kiss?”

Speaking of siblings.

Lance spins around to see Veronica, Rachel, Marco, and Luis crammed into the staircase, all in their pajamas like they were posing for one of the endless family pictures their parents made them do growing up.

“Nah, Rach, they did something even better,” Marco grins. “The no-homo shoulder touch.”

“That felt very homo,” Veronica notes turning to her brother. “As a homosexual, my homo reading of that shoulder touch was 13/10.”

“You should've kissed him, baby bro,” Luis says, matter-of-factly. “What kind of date are you if you aren't gonna kiss your boyfriend goodnight?”

Lance felt his ears burning red, but instead of fighting his siblings (because he's the highly respected Red Paladin of Voltron, thank you) he did was any great mediator of their time would do.

He began chucking shoes from the doorway at them until they scrambled back from the stairs like the rats they were.

The next day Lance got up before the sun and made his way to the Garrison docks with the rest of his family. Since he was flying Red, Veronica took her Garrison issued vehicle, packed with their family and took the longer route on the turf while Lance soared in the sky.

It didn’t take long for Lance to break ahead of them, and looking at his watch he decided to take a more scenic route along the mountain ranges. He found himself in a narrow valley that was almost a gorge, where a clear river rushed and roared over an exceedingly rocky bed. Along the side, he saw that the river drove a number of mills and hydropower devices, the entrances surrounded by some of the different alien refugees that had since made their homes on Earth.

Seeing the Red Lion, a group of children cheered and began racing along the riverbank as Lance flew past, waving and calling out to him.

“Looks like you got fans, Red,” Lance jokes, feeling the rumbling of his lion push against his consciousness. “Wanna give them a little razzle dazzle before we leave?”

Red roars and Lance grins, pulling the controls up and directing his lion up to show off some aerobatics maneuvers for their fans. Nothing too intense - he knows Keith would murder him if he was late for ATLAS’ boarding because he crashed his lion showing off - but just a few spins and flips to entertain. With a final loop and roll, Red lets out a roar and Lance blasts off again as their newest fans yelled their goodbyes, heading back on their original route.

“Don’t tell Keith about this,” Lance says and he feels the rumbling in agreement. It’s enough to remind Lance of the newest addition to his cockpit. Setting Red on autopilot for the Garrison, he scrambles back behind his seat to ruffle through his bag, pulling out a couple of pictures.

One is of his family during a barbeque after the Galra invasion when the entire McClain clan tried to fit together for a picture and Lance was stuck trying to hold both Nadia and Sylvio in his arms. Another was of him and the rest of the paladins during their stay at the Garrison Hospital when they gathered into Allura’s room to play cards and Shiro found the scene of all five of them squeezed around her bed too cute not to take a picture of, so of course they replied by making the goofiest faces they could muster. The rest were quick snapshots from their days on the Castle of Lions that he finally got printed once they were back on Earth.

When he stands to get back to his seat, one of the pictures in his hand falls from his hold. Leaning down, he sees its the one of him and Keith from the night before - the one that looked like him and Allura at first.

Lance frowns, is it possible that these memories weren’t really his but from a different version of himself? Is that the person who he thought he was in this reality? Did he have these memories in his original reality?

In the back of his head, he feels Red purr comfortingly and he takes his seat and rests a hand on the control console, “Sorry boy, guess I got myself a little lost in thought.”

It doesn’t take much longer for him to reach the Galaxy Garrison, and Lance quickly sees the Blue Lion parked outside of the particle barrier. Landing Red next to his old lion, he sees Allura hanging out of Blue’s mouth, dressed in her paladin uniform, feet dangling from its jaw. Her silver hair is down from its usual bun, cascading along her shoulders like stars spilling from the sky.

She turns to face him and from his screen, he sees her smile softly and gives him a small wave. He waves back from his seat, before silently chiding himself because he's in his freaking lion and of course she can’t see him. Red laughs at him in his mind.

“Be quiet you,” he scolds and powers down the lion in annoyance.

Leaning back, Lance exhales as he runs his hands through his hair.

He hasn’t seen Allura since she rejected his invitation to dinner. That was only a day ago but with everything that has happened, it feels like a lifetime. Part of him was hoping he could avoid seeing her until he’s figured out what was going on with these realities, and by extension Keith.

Guess no time like the present.

Tossing his bag over his shoulder, Lance exits Red’s mouth and leans over his jaw to face Allura, the morning sun shining behind her like a warm pang.

“Morning, Princess,” he greets her kindly.

“Good morning, Lance. You’re here early, I think you even beat Keith.”

“Ah, my life's work complete,” he places his hand on his chest, sighing dramatically in hopes to get her to laugh. When she doesn't, he feels himself tightening, the familiar sense of discomfort lapping at him like the shore nipping his ankles. Fortunately, Allura takes pity on him and moves the conversation along.

“I heard Keith came to your house for dinner last night,” she says with a small grin he would go as far to call impish.

Forget what he said about taking pity.

He clears his throat, hoping to cover his own discomfort.

“Yeah, he did,” he says with a shrug. “He didn't have anything else to do and I couldn't just let him spend his last night on Earth sharpening his knives and walking his space wolf.”

Allura rests her chin in her hand, leaning up against the plate of Blue's jaw, “Is that right?”

“I mean, I had an open invitation.” Lance winces after the words leave his mouth.

“I was more curious about Keith than anything else,” she says, not missing a beat. “Did you two have a nice time?”

Lance thinks back to the picture that sits in the cockpit of his lion, smiling at the memory of Keith laughing with his siblings and hearing stories from his parents. The way his eyes seemed to sparkle in the moonlight and how effortless it felt to talk with him over tea and cookies that hours blew past like minutes. How even now, when he's talking to the girl he thought his heart belonged to, he's missing the person who currently holds it in the palm of his hand.

“We did.”

“That makes me happy,” Allura sighs like she's letting out an exhale of a breath she's been holding and leans back on her hands. “I tried to stay in my room to review the medical records of the Altean pilot - she still hasn't awoken -  but before I knew it Romelle, Pidge, Rizavi and Leifsdottir had managed to hack through my doors security for a,” she makes quotation marks in the air with her fingers. “‘ _Mandatory Girls Night’_ and I was taken against my will to Pidge's room since she's technically still being punished by her mother.”

“Sounds more like a sleepover than a kidnapping.”

“Don't try to defend my captors, Lance.”

“Sorry,” he laughs, leaning against Red. “Tell me more about your mandatory fun situation. Did you indulge in the ancient Earth slumber party customs of Truth or Dare and late night gossiping?”

“No, but we did sneak out and go to the swap-meet in town to get some video game that Pidge and Rizavi were very excited about.”

“You mean Killbot Phantasm 26: Revengifiance?” he gapes. “Nobody's seen that since before the Galra invaded!”

“That's what Rizavi said, but Pidge had managed to locate one of the few undamaged copies left,” she explains, swinging her legs and twisting her face. “Apparently there is a massively popular animated series about our time in Voltron, so Pidge and I were able to use pieces of paper with our names on it as currency.”

“Wait, did you guys seriously exchange autographs for an ultra-rare video game?!”

“Well, I also had to say that I thought Keith was the most handsome paladin,” she grins, sending Lance into a frenzy.

“WHAT?!”

She shrugs, “In the show we are...what was it you said? Sitting in a tree?”

Lance feels his ears burn as a blush creeps across his cheeks, turning away before she can comment on it.

“Anyway, it sounds like your girl gang had quite the adventure.”

“It was a lot of fun! We stayed up late and came close to beating the entire game! Also,” Allura pulls off her glove to wiggle her fingers at Lance, freshly painted lilac nails shining in the morning sun. “Leifsdottir gave me a manicure! Doesn't it look nice?”

“Yeah, it suits you.”

Her eyes fall to her nails with a blink and her smile falters a bit, “It does, doesn't it?”

The silence returns between them and soon Allura returns her hand to her glove, her smile seeming a lot sadder now than it did when she was recounting her night. He's instantly reminded to the glimpse he got of the picture of the two of them and how sad she had looked. Even though they had been together in that small snapshot of whatever alternative universe once existed, Allura was just as lonely as the one who sat in front of him now.

Leading a war effort, defending the universe, avenging her destroyed home...from the second Allura awoke from the healing pod and fell into his arms, she was never allowed to know what it was like to be a normal teenage girl.

If he was being honest, one of the few times he saw her truly at ease was during their game of Monsters and Mana before she left to help build the comet ship with--

“Lance?”

He's ripped from his thoughts by her voice, shaking his head quickly, “Sorry, I spaced out. Still a little tired, I guess.”

“It's alright,” she says, lifting up to her feet. “All I was saying was that it seems we both had a pleasant last night on Earth.”

“Yeah, I guess we did,” Lance smiles as she heads back into her lion before stopping her. “Hey, so if you _had_ to pick the best-looking paladin, animated likeness notwithstanding, who'd you pick?”

Allura stops to lean against Blue's mouth, arms crossed in front of her chest, “Oh, that's easy!”

“Yeah?”

“Shiro!” she beams and Lance can’t even argue with her. Shiro was hot. “But you're at a close second, even with your ears.”

Lance touches rounded tips of his ears with a small smile, “Thanks, Allura.”

She smiles too and looks up just as the Green, Yellow and Black lions make their landing next to them on the strip.

“Let's go meet the others,” she says and Lance nods, following her down as Red and Blue’s heads lower them to the runway where their friends were waiting for them.

“Hey, guys,” Hunk greets, tilting his head to Pidge with a smarmy grin. “Did you see we managed to break Jailbird out long enough to fly her lion to the loading site?”

“I was able to deactivate that tracking device my mom put on me last night and stuck it on Bae Bae, so now I’m free as a bird,” Pidge says, pulling the edges of her pants to reveal her bare ankle. “At least until they figure it out once we’re on the ATLAS.”

Keith blinks and turns to her, “Your parents really bugged you?”

“Matt and I were raised by scientists who work on secret government projects, Keith,” she explains, solemnly. “Grounding in the Holt Household is serious business.”

“When Veronica and I were growing up, there were so many of us that our parents totally lost track of who was who,” Lance explains, arms crossed over his chest. “Whenever one of us did something wrong, my Mom would need to go through our lineup before she landed on the right name. I’m convinced my brother Luis got grounded for stuff I pulled at the Garrison because both our names start with L and it was close enough.”

“Isn’t your brother Luis, like, nine years older than you?” Keith asks.

“Exactly.”

“See, I can’t relate, because I was nothing but an angel,” Hunk says, pressing his hands together in the most innocent pose he could muster. “It wasn’t until I was paired-up with you two hooligans that I ever got into any trouble at all.”

“Bullspit,” Lance argues, lightly punching Hunk in the arm. “You used to sneak into the Garrison kitchen all the time!”

As Hunk defends himself, Lance can see from the corner of his eye that Allura’s hands are clasped tightly in front of her stomach, constantly fiddling with her knuckles, weaving her fingers in and out of each other. He realizes quickly that she must be feeling left out with all the family talk, and looking at Keith he can tell he’s sensing it too.

“Alright enough goofing around,” Keith says, making his way to the doors of where ATLAS is boarding. “We’re wasting time. Let’s move.”

“Aye aye, oh fearless leader,” Lance flicks two fingers off his forehead in a mock salute as they make their way to the loading bay.

They walk to the elevator platform, and the respectful nods of the guards on-duty still confuse Lance. He knows that being a Paladin of Voltron has a rank, but he doesn’t know how that fits within the established system of the Garrison. The elevator to the ATLAS is made from glass, parts like two arms outstretched, before sealing around them like an embrace.

Lance preoccupies himself with staring through the glass as they rise through the levels, pulling out his phone to see the message from Veronica that his family was there and ready to send them off. He texts back a quick reply, knowing that set off for a ship as large of ATLAS was going to take more than a few minutes. He puts his phone away and watches as the routines of Garrison workers slip pass like snapshots, before turning to look at Allura.

She’s leaning against the opposite side of the elevator, staring out as well, her eyes far away.

“They want us to make a speech before we lift off.”

Lance turns to see it’s Keith who’s turned to face him and he lifts an eyebrow.

“Us? As in,” he motions between them and Keith nods. “Why?”

“Cause we’re co-leads of Voltron.”

Lance turns back to Allura, he’s sure Keith knows what’s he’s thinking but can’t help himself from saying it.

“Right, but wasn’t Allura the head of the coalition?” he adds, “And isn’t Shiro the Captain of ATLAS?”

“It’s not the same as Voltron,” Keith looks at him, and asks softly within the silence. “Do you not wanna do it?”

The loading bay approaches. Lance looks away, still getting used to being so hyper-aware of Keith’s existence.

“Do you need me to do it?”

Keith pauses and says with earnestly, “It would be nice to have you with me.”

“Then I’ll do it,” Lance pats Keith on the shoulder, turning to where the elevator door has reopened. “Whatever you need, buddy.”

They exit the corridor to hear the sound of two people arguing in the hallway and quickly they come up to see Shiro, dressed in a neatly pressed black Garrison uniform with his additional stripes to display his rank as Captain. Across from him is a man holding a clipboard that at first Lance doesn’t recognize, his head throbbing as the scene in front of him blurs, like a fading illusion.

Rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands, he looks up as his vision clears.

“Adam, please,” Shiro urges, his voice tilting upward in almost a whine. “I know I’m on that list.”

“Hmm, I don’t know _Captain_ , I don’t see any _Shiro_ on this list,” the other man says, peering at his clipboard over his half-moon spectacles, shaggy chestnut hair covering the glass eye and scarring along the side of his face. “And that’s Commander Wright to you, _sir_.”

Ah, right. That's Adam, Shiro's ex-fiancé who was presumed dead after the Galra invasion but discovered as a prisoner in one of Sendak’s cruisers.

Lance frowns looking at his hands - was this one of the things different from his original reality? He feels a heavy hand in his shoulder and turns to see Hunk, brows furrowed in concern.

“You okay, dude?”

“Uh, yeah,” Lance stammers, forcing himself to grin. “Just got a little dizzy from the elevator.”

“Right? I thought it was just me, but it's definitely nauseating to see all those floors pass by over and over again,” he pauses, moving away from Lance. “Actually talking about it makes me want to barf again.”

“Please don't,” Pidge begs, face scrunching up in disgust.

They watch as Keith and Allura make their way over to Adam and Shiro, looking slightly exasperated. As if this wasn't the first time they had to intervene with these two.

“Good morning, Shiro and Commander Wright,” Allura greets, turning to Adam. “I hope you're faring well.”

“Good morning, Princess,” Adam says brightly, his entire mood lifting now that he wasn't speaking with Shiro. “Are all the paladins here?”

“Yeah, and so is the former Black Paladin,” Keith adds, motioning to Shiro over his shoulder. “Captain Takashi Shirogane of the IGF-ATLAS.”

“Can we not talk about me like I'm a ghost, please? It's giving me flashbacks to when I was trapped in Black’s consciousness,” Shiro laments and Allura puts a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Oh you poor thing,” Adam says in a mocking tone, pressing the clipboard against his chest dramatically. “Did the Galra take you prisoner, too?”

“Yes!”

“Well get in line!” Adam spits and Shiro grits his teeth to keep from hollering, before stomping off towards the main hull of the ship. Snickering at his work, Adam checks Shiro’s name off the clipboard easily before turning to Keith with a smile. “Sorry Keith, were you all ready to check in? There was an annoying gnat in my ear.”

“Adam, c'mon, give Shiro a break,” Keith sighs. “You can't keep pushing his buttons forever. He's gonna snap.”

“You know I love you, kiddo, but stay out of it,” Adam checks off their names before handing them their key cards and turning to the box behind them. “I'm glad you all came together, though. HQ just dropped off your new uniforms.”

Pulling square plastic bags out, he hands out colorful packages that matched their armors.

“Woah! Nice!” Hunk grins at his new yellow tunic. “This is very classy.”

Adam turns to Keith with a lazy smile, “Don't think I didn't notice the extra decor. Congrats, Second Lieutenants.”

Keith flushes and Lance opens his package to confirm that he has the additional stripes as well, “Awesome!”

“I think this means we outrank the MFE pilots,” Pidge notes and Lance’s eyes widen with mischief.

“You think I can order Griffin to eat raw food goo?”

“Don't,” Keith warns and Lance pouts

“It was just a suggestion...”

Adam proceeds to begin directing them to where their rooms are located on the ship when Romelle turns the corner, Sam Holt and Coran behind her looking distressed.

“Allura, we need you at the medical bay,” she says in a soft voice. “It’s about Luka.”

“Coming,” she answers, grabbing her uniform briskly before turning to the rest of them. “I’ll meet with you afterward to debrief.”

“Got it,” Keith nods. As Allura rushes past to Romelle, Lance glances back at her, swallowing dryly.

“Let her go, Lance,” he hears Hunk say, a comforting hand on his back leading him forward towards the entrance of the ATLAS. Lance sighs, adjusting his bag over his shoulder as he follows behind Pidge and Keith.

“Shouldn’t we go with her?” he asks, turning to the other boy nervously. “She was really upset about the Altean pilot.”

“Yeah, upset enough to reject your dinner invitation,” Hunk notes and Lance groans in frustration.

“It’s not about that!”

“Really?” Hunk muses looking at where Keith and Pidge were chatting ahead of them and shifts into a low voice. “Is it because Loverboy Lance has already moved on to a certain surly leader who joined him for dinner instead of the Princess?”

Lance turns as red as a beetroot and radiates heat like a hot pan, “How did you know?”

“Easy,” Hunk begins ticking off on his fingers. “After Allura rejected you and you went off to go sulk, I told Pidge, who told Matt, who told Veronica, who then had a direct line back to Pidge via a secret group chat that all the girls are apart of - don’t ask, none of us are invited, I already asked Shay - who was giving a play-by-play update of the dinner during their sleepover.”

“Quiznack!” Lance gasps. “What are they? The Blade of Marmora?”

“I’d never say this to Kolivan, cause that dude scares me, but he’s got nothing on the communicative power of women when they want some dirt.”

“Noted,” Lance sighs, running his hand through his hair. “Anyway, I’m just worried about Allura. You saw her this morning, she’s in her own head a lot and seems to be breaking herself off from the team. I just wish I knew what was upsetting her.”

“Maybe she’s homesick,” Hunk shrugs as they round the corner near where their new bedrooms were, stopping in his tracks. “Remember when we first were on Arus with the castle ship and you got all emotional missing Earth that you went and got yourself blown up by Galra Rover?”

“That isn’t what happened, I pushed Coran out of the way of the blast!”

“Details,” Hunk waves dismissively. “Anyway, now imagine you’re Allura and after waking up to find out all your fellow Alteans and loved ones are dead, so you gotta defeat the guy who did that.”

“Okay.”

“But then his handsome half-Altean son comes in, kills him for you, and then you go on a magical adventure to some mystical planet together doing some Altean stuff,” Hunk then waves his hands, dramatically. “Only then you find out that he has a whole planet of Alteans that he didn’t tell you about and he’s been sucking their energy so you throw him into the rift and get thrown three years into the future and gotta hang on a foreign planet where all your friends hang out with their family and you’re _alone_!”

Lance stares at Hunk as if I'd just produced a Yalmor from his pocket.

“Damn.”

“Right? Wouldn’t you feel a little bit depressed?”

“I didn’t even think about that,” he admits looking down at his boots, painfully. “I’ve been so in my own crap about liking her and wanting to impress her that I didn’t even consider all the stress she’s must be going through! I’m such an idiot!”

“You’re not an idiot, you were just-” Hunk taps his chin as he tries to find the right word, landing on, “Preoccupied.”

Lance sighs and Hunk wraps his arm around him to get them walking again toward their rooms.

“But now you’re _preoccupied_ with other things.”

Lance’s eyes narrow, “Hunk, are you insinuating that Keith and I are...preoccupied?”

“Nooooo,” Hunk says in a way that confirms yes that is exactly what he is insinuating. Lance groans and pulls his arm off his shoulder and makes his way to the room with the plate _L. McClain_ on it. “Love you!”

“Still not talking about this,” he calls back, swiping his keycard. “Love you too, buddy.”

The door closes behind him and Lance drops his bag on the floor, takes two steps into the room and falls face first into the hard bed.

“Home sweet home,” he exhales for what feels like the first time in hours.

He turns on his back to take stock of the room - it wasn’t that much smaller than his old room on the Castle ship, although this one had a desk and a   mirror. Once they lifted off, maybe he’d ask someone to go explore the ship with him. If it was anything like the Castle of Lions, it was full of secret rooms to uncover.

Leaning up, he checks his phone for the time and sees they still have a few hours until takeoff and quickly changes into his new uniform. It’s fitted perfectly and he admires himself in the mirror with a smirk, “Second Lieutenant McClain, paladin of Voltron...it’s got a nice ring to it.”

Once dressed, he begins to unpack his bag and the fluorescent light reflects off the small metal device he found the night before. Twirling it between his fingers, Lance inspects it closely. It looks like a mix between Galra and Altean tech, similar to that Sincline ship Lotor piloted. Even though he was used to crazy things happening, the notion that he could just hop in and out of reality at will was hard to swallow.

He places it in his breast pocket and he’s about to toss his bag in the closet when he hears the sound of fabric drop onto the floor. Curious, he looks down and sees a pair of fingerless gloves, worn nearly threadbare.

Keith’s gloves.

The memory washes over Lance like balm on a wound, him frantically running to Keith’s bedroom when they were forced to evacuate the castle when he was still off with Shiro. Lance had checked to make sure Krolia had taken everything of value out but saw she had left the raggy gloves behind.

He had completely forgotten about them during their journey back to Earth, throwing them in his bag without another thought.

“Lance?”

There’s a knock on his door and it slides open, revealing Keith, “We're about to head back to-”

With a jump, Lance motions to hide the gloves behind his back. It’s not lost on Keith, who's instantly suspicious.

“What are you hiding?”

“Nothing.”

“Then why are your arms behind your back?”

“Cause I’m -” Lance pauses to think, pulling his arms back further. “Stretching?”

“Lance.”

“Keith.” Lance mimics in the same warning tone and it’s enough to bait him to lunge and with an undignified squeak, Lance dodges.

“Hey!”

Keith clenches his teeth as Lance dances around him in the tiny bedroom as he makes a grab for his still hidden hands.

“Stop chasing me! Were you raised in the woods?”

“No, I was raised in the desert,” Keith replies and because he’s fast a hell, he goes for Lance's knees sending both of them tumbling to the bed with a loud thud. Lance tries to squirm away, but Keith grabs his arms, and Lance freezes.

“You wouldn’t.”

Keith cocks an eyebrow with a crooked smirk, “I would.”

Like lightning, his hands are at Lance’s sides, tickling him until he’s convulsing in laughter while trying to squirm away with gasping breaths.

“You dirty cheat!” he says between tearful laughing, still trying in vain to keep his hands away from Keith. “Tickling is a form of torture!”

Keith ignores him, taking hold of both of his bony wrists in his hands and pinning them up above his head while his other hand moved to stop its tickling to grab the gloves from Lance's grip. Once he registers what they are, he blinks in confusion looks down at Lance.

“Are these my gloves?”

“Yeah…” Lance feels his face heating up at the closeness. He can smell whatever soap Keith uses, and sees how his front tooth is slightly crooked. Swallowing hard, Lance tries to look away. “I saved them from the castle before it exploded and meant to give them to you.”

“Oh,” is all Keith says, rubbing the soft material between his fingers he looks conflicted before scratching the back of his head. “Um...thanks?”

“No problem,” Lance says before clearing his throat because this is getting really awkward. “Can you get off me, though? You’re crushing my legs.”

“Right, yeah. Sorry.” Keith leans back on his heels and releasing his hold on Lance so he can sit up. They both stand in the middle of the room uncomfortably as Keith slowly takes the gloves and puts them on his hands, flexing his fingers as he works in the fabric. He smiles, looking back at Lance. “Looks like they still fit.”

“Yeah,” he nods, finally taking the time to take all of Keith in, with his disheveled hair and brand new uniform. Lance feels his heartbeat echo in his ears like there was a firing squad approaching, and not just Keith. It beats so loudly that he doesn’t hear himself say, “Red suits you.”

Keith pauses and looks back at Lance, his face full of so many conflicting emotions it’s almost unreadable. He lowers his shoulder with a sigh and pats Lance’s arm again, “Thanks.”

His arm feels like there are tiny thunder shocks drifting along his skin from the touch.

What was that, exactly? Some kind of Keith Kogane silent gesture to indicate something to Lance that he couldn’t understand because he was an enigma wrapped in a riddle buried beneath a field of unasked questions?

Lance wasn’t dumb, and knew that the butterflies he was feeling in his chest were far from platonic when it came to Keith. Maybe it wasn't a full-on crush, but it was something. Not for the first time in his life, their dynamic sends him into a tailspin and he tries to look back at the past few months to pinpoint exactly when their relationship shifted from genuine fighting and more fond bickering. They were all over the place, and somehow it had worked until he invited Keith over for dinner in Allura's stead.

His mind drifts back to Allura’s sad eyes and lonely heart and Lotor’s warnings about needing to continue in the timeline in order to save her.  

But from _what_?

Hopefully, his previous reality wasn’t as emotionally complex as the one he was in now.

“C’mon,” Keith motions with his hand to get his attention, breaking him out from his thoughts as he turns to walk out of the room. “The others are waiting.”

Lance nods, following him out of the bedroom just like the last time he followed him into space. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The inspiration behind the picture of the paladins at Garrison hospital came from art by Kai Ayame which you can find [here](https://twitter.com/kai_ayame/status/1030279412535750656)


	3. Heart-Shaped Hologram

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wolf pulls away, tail wagging happily, as the metal of the small device between his teeth shines in the hallway light.
> 
> Dumbly, Lance pats his pockets to confirm what he already knows.
> 
> That’s the Rift Gate Projector.
> 
> “Quiznack.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from Stephanie Mabey's "Heart-Shaped Hologram"

Lance sits outside the ATLAS medical bay in his Garrison issued sweats sporting a black eye, a pouch of water hanging from his mouth. He's sitting on a chair in the hallway, his legs pulled to his chest with his chin resting on his knees.

It's been a long few movements.

After they had said goodbye to their families staying behind on Earth, Shiro had of course given a speech that was full of inspiring messages about victory. Luckily, it was longer than anyone thought so when he had looked at Keith, he only had a few ticks to say something quickly before they wrapped. It wasn't that Lance wasn't capable of saying anything insightful before they lifted off to begin the universe's most dangerous wild goose chase, it was more that after the two Black Paladins said their piece it was hard to follow up.

It seemed that just standing next to Keith was enough for him because after the ceremony wrapped, he thanked Lance with way more emotion than necessary.

Their shift in dynamic since the dinner was still something Lance wasn't completely confident about. On one hand, Keith was giving him a lot more attention which he enjoyed, especially after the lonely months without him on the team. But on the other, Lance had become hyper-aware of Keith whenever he was remotely within his general vicinity, it made his skin warm and hands get clammy.

He thought he'd been hiding it well until Pidge and Matt starting referring to Keith as his “other half” while exchanging cheshire cat grins.

Lance was beginning to grow irritated with his friends because while he was twisting himself into a pretzel over Keith, Allura and he were growing further apart than ever.

From the moment they lifted off from Earth, Allura's had a single focus: Finding Honerva. 

Ever since learning that the Altean pilot, Luka, had died mysteriously, locating the Altean alchemist had become all-consuming for Allura. It was driving a wedge between herself and the rest of the team, and every time Lance even tried to reach out and broach the topic, she bit his head off or straight up ignored him.

She was becoming increasingly reckless, and Lance saw the way it was chafing against Keith.

The two of them were used to butting heads, but now it felt like if one of them said left, the other would argue right just to be difficult. There was a tension and anytime Lance asked either of them what was happening, they would brush him off. Even Hunk couldn’t get them to see things the same way and Hunk had managed to get Bae Bae and Kosmo to drink from the same water bowl, which was a diplomatic miracle in itself.

Even if he couldn’t figure out what their damage was, It was making Lance's job as second-in-command unnecessarily difficult. Not to mention he was sure it was becoming more than a little obvious that both paladins had their means of manipulating him to take their side.

It was an exhausting game of back and forth that came to a head when Allura and Keith started fighting about whether or not to travel through the Quantum Abyss. Lance knew the shape the team was in after quintants of searching for any sign of Honerva and that both paladins and their lions needed to return to the ATLAS to recharge before even thinking about going through such a journey.

When he said to Allura that he agreed with Keith to not head back to the Quantum Abyss, she looked at him with absolute betrayal from her communicator and blocked his line. Even Keith's small, “Thanks.” in Lance's ear didn't help him recover from that cold shoulder.

It's not surprising that eventually, it was gonna lead to this.

“Lance?” 

At the sound of his voice, he looks up to see Shiro walking out of the medical bay room with Adam. 

“Oh hey,” Lance greets between the water pack, voice hoarse from lack of use as he gives a small wave.

Adam gives Lance a nod before turning to Shiro, “I'll be returning to my post, _Captain_.” 

“Adam-” Shiro starts but the other man has already turned around to make his way down the hallway.

“Let me know if anything changes with Keith's condition,” he says over his shoulder before the automatic door swishes shut behind him. Shiro stares at it, face sullen as a sigh escapes his mouth, shoulders falling.

Lance swallows around his water uncomfortably. It was no secret that Shiro and Adam's frayed relationship was something that haunted his friend like a ghost of their past. Unlike the early bickering that Lance had experienced with Keith, Adam's jabs were like venom with pinpoint accuracy for his target. He knew exactly where to aim to make Shiro hurt, and every shot was a blow to the other man's heart.

Frankly, it was hard to watch. 

“Shiro, if it's getting out of hand, I can talk to him for you,” Lance says softly, pulling his water pouch from his lips. “Or have Veronica. Anyone just to give him a hint.” 

Shiro rolls his head back, taking a deep breath in through his nose and exhaling it out through his mouth. When they were first learning how to form Voltron, he would do that a lot and it would make Lance, Pidge and Hunk nervous because they thought Shiro was mad at them. It wasn’t until Keith explained it was something Shiro did to clear his thoughts that they realized it was just one of the many ways their mentor had learned to cope with the world around him.

“Thank you, but that won't be necessary,” Shiro smiles lazily before turning to face him. “It doesn't look it, but we're working on this in our own way.” 

“Are you sure?” Lance asks as Shiro walks over and drops into one of the empty seats next to him. He covers his face with his Altean hand, the metal fingers blocking the harsh fluorescent lights above them. “You look like you're suffering and you've been through a lot already.”

Shiro peeks at him between his fingers with a wry smirk, “That's kind of you to be so worried about me, Lance.”

Lance felt the tips of his ears warm and turns away to take a sip of whatever was left of his water, the plastic crinkling with effort.

“Your happiness is important to the team,” he admits and his eyes wander to the glass window of the hospital room in front of them. “Keith knew that.”

“Funny enough, him being injured is one of the few things that seems to bring Adam and me together. We're like a divorced couple trying to figure out joint custody,” Shiro explains, patting his thigh. “We both see Keith as our responsibility, even now when he's off making his own choices and leading you guys. We were all close once.” 

Lance bites his water, not knowing what else to say on the matter other than he wished that Shiro and Adam could figure out their differences and learn how to be happy, even if wasn’t with each other. Seeing two people who care about each other hurt the other over and over was painful. 

He’s pulled from his thoughts when the door opens again and Allura walks through, hair pulled up into a neat bun and pink uniform pressed. She looks like Lance’s antithesis as he shifts in his sweatpants, rolling his pants legs up to keep from making eye contact. If she notices, Allura doesn’t act like it. She turns to Shiro. 

“He’s still not awake?”

“No and he probably won’t be for a while,” Shiro notes, turning to stare at the window where they could see Keith's unconscious form. He was being pumped with enough morphine to take down an elephant. The list of injuries after his fight with Zethrid include internal bleeding, skull fractures, a concussion, and spinal trauma from being hanged. Not to mention his larynx was completely shot from where Zethrid crushed his throat. There was more, but the list had gone on so long that the doctor's words became nonsensical sounds in Lance's ears towards the end.  

Allura sighs, resting her hands on her chest, “I wish we still had stigmatics for the healing pods. At least then we could feel secure in having all five paladins at the ready sooner.” 

“That’s a funny way to say you’re concerned about your friend,” Lance bites bitterly knowing he’s going to regret it, but too angry to care. Allura gasps, winded by his words, but not a tick later she’s composed, already taking steps backward. Lance keeps staring at his sneakers to keep from seeing the look of disappointment he knows Shiro is giving him.

A tense silence washes over the three of them, and it's becoming increasingly clear how strange their roles have become since Earth. They’ve each grown, but are still in positions that they don’t know how to navigate. They’re kids playing dress up in clothes that don’t fit yet.

“Will you let me know if his condition changes?” Allura asks Shiro, continuing to ignore Lance’s existence.

Shiro nods, “Of course.” 

She thanks him and leaves, the door swishing closed behind her. A quiet sits on top of Lance and Shiro, like a weighted blanket. Even at moments like this, Shiro’s silence was somehow oddly comforting. His lacks of words at times spoke for itself, it was peaceful in a way where he could always get across that no matter what was happening, he was always there for you. It was one of the things Lance noticed a lack of when they were dealing with his clone for months. 

"I heard how you reacted when they brought him in,” Shiro’s voice breaks the silence.

Right. The incident. 

They were gonna talk about it.

All of this happened because Lance was stupid enough to let Keith go off on his own on the volcano planet because he couldn't keep the team together. It was Thayserix all over again, only this time instead of stopping Keith from doing something stupid, Lance wasn't there and he nearly died.

Luckily, Veronica had been there to take the shot at Zethrid while Acxa distracted her, but Lance knew that should've been him behind the trigger.

"Yeah, Allura had to physically stop me from running down to the holding cells to take out Zethrid myself," he said humorlessly as he sunk deeper into his knees. "She used her Altean strength to shove me into the hangar wall." 

"Is that where the shiner's from?"

"No, that's from Veronica," he admits looking guilty at his sneakers. He plays with the loose laces. "I may have said some unkind things to Acxa while I was freaking out."

"Lance," Shiro sighs, disappointment drenched in his voice. "We don't have healing pods, sure, but we still have some of the best medical techs around on the ATLAS. He's going to be okay, even if it takes a little bit longer than you're used to." 

"He shouldn't be that way in the first place," Lance argues, eyes narrowing. "We shouldn't have even been a position to make him a target for Zethrid. Cause what? We saved Acxa? We caused a power struggle when we left Lotor in the rift? Because we tried to save the universe? For what, Shiro? We keep ending up in these situations when one of us almost dies - you actually died - and then we just keep moving on like it doesn't matter!" 

"It does matter!"

"Then why don't we ever act like it?" Lance cries, feeling his eyes begin to burn with tears he refuses to cry because he is not gonna lose his shit again. He's already got a list of people he needs to apologize to for losing his temper and he won't add Shiro too, but he's so close. He can feel he's rounding a bend, peering over the cliff.   

The silence washes back and before Shiro can say anything, the door opens with a swish and that's what pushes Lance over the edge.

“Whoever's about to come in, I'm gonna save you some time - no Keith isn't awake, yes Shiro will keep you updated if his condition changes.” Lance waves his arms in the air dramatically as he gives his diatribe. If he had stopped for a moment, he would've seen the look he was getting from Shiro. “Thanks for stopping by, see ya in the mess hall!” 

A low whine indicates to Lance that he may have jumped the gun on who he was talking to and when he takes a second to actually _look_ at the door, he sees Kosmo standing, ears pushed back nervously, his head tilted to the side sadly.

“You sure showed him!” Shiro teases as Lance runs to the oversized dog to give him a hug. The wolf turns to him with sad eyes, sending guilt-laced daggers through his chest. Lance’s heart melts.

“Kosmo! I’m sorry, buddy!” he coos, ruffling his mane as Kosmo licks all over his face, pawing at him with giant space wolf paws. “You just came here to check on your dad and I yelled at you for no reason!”

“You’ve been surly all day, but Kosmo is enough to break you out of it?” Shiro takes steps over to run his hand through Kosmo’s fur, untangling some knots between his fingers. 

“He misses his dad, I can’t be upset at him for that,” he says and Kosmo tilts his head to the side curiously at the attention and nuzzles into him. “Keith better wake up, he has a life depending on him now.” 

“He will, you know that,” Shiro says and stands with a sense of finality. “Lance, we aren’t moving from crisis to crisis because we want to - it’s because it’s what we need to do to end this war. Allura knows that, and so does Keith. It’s in these moments where we need to come together and step up when one of us can’t, and you’re the best of us at doing that.”

Lance looks up at Shiro, arms still around Kosmo who’s starting to drool against his t-shirt, leaving a sticky damp spot on his shoulder, “You really think so?”

He hates how needy his voice sounds as if he’s pleading for his childhood hero to give him purpose all over again. Like he’s a junior cadet at the Garrison and not one of the defenders of the universe. But Shiro was never one to judge, and instead gives Lance a knowing smile, eyes almost twinkling.

“I know so,” he says softly. Then he suddenly code switches, and it’s his commanding voice that Lance remembers from the Garrison and cockpit of the Black Lion. “Also, next time you see Allura you’re apologizing to her. You may both be paladins, but she’s a Princess and out-ranks you. I do not tolerate that sort of behavior on my ship, do you understand?”

Lance jumps to his feet, saluting him in muscle memory, “Yes, sir!”

Shiro nods letting him sweat before winking. He gives Kosmo one more pat before he heads out through the automatic door, letting it close behind him. Lance exhales, feeling his whole body deflate as he relaxes.

He hears the pattering of paws against linoleum as Kosmo slowly walks to the window that looks into the room where Keith was resting. Lance walks up behind him, hands shoved into the pockets of his sweats as he peers through the glass.

Keith lays in the bed, oxygen mask on his face as machines whirl and beep around him. His neck is braced, and the heart monitors beat stubbornly beside him. Even though Lance is sure Keith could probably bench two of him without breaking much of a sweat, this Keith looked frail enough to fall to pieces the second anyone touched him. Like he was a tower of Jenga blocks and one pulled piece would cause him to crash.

Kosmo looks at Lance with big sad eyes and ears drooping on either side of his head. With another whine, he pushes his snout against the glass, as if doing so will allow him to access Keith. Lance kneels down next to him, his fingers brushing the blue fur as gently as he possibly can.

“It’s okay, buddy...he’ll be alright,” Lance coos, wrapping his arms around the wolf and feels the thumping of his heartbeat against him. Kosmo nuzzles into the side of Lance’s hoodie and just as he’s about to give him extra pets, he feels sharp teeth snag on something. “Kosmo! What is-”

The wolf pulls away, tail wagging happily, as the metal of the small device between his teeth shines in the hallway light.

Dumbly, Lance pats his pockets to confirm what he already knows. 

That’s the Rift Gate Projector.

“Quiznack.”

Just as Lance is about to jump forward to grab it, a flash of white appears and Lance grabs onto Kosmo tightly as they’re pulled back into the rift.

 

* * *

 

 

Lance wakes up on the ground feeling something wet and slobbery kissing his face, and with a groan pushes whatever it is away. After blinking, he realizes it’s Kosmo and he’s been transported back into the rift between realities. One glance downward confirms his suspicion, his Garrison sweats replaced with his blue paladin armor. He throws his head back with an annoyed groan.

“Ugh, Kosmo! C’mon!” 

The wolf’s tail wags happily while Lance pulls himself up, hands on his hips as he looks around in hopes to figure out where they've landed. Running his hand through his hair, he eventually turns to Kosmo, hand outstretched.

“Alright, I'm stumped - hand it over so we can get back.”

With an excited head tilt, Kosmo's tail wags faster and Lance can swear he sees the wolf's eyes twinkle. He frowns. 

“Kosmo,” he warns, taking a step forward. “Give me the device.” 

A whine escapes, and Kosmo pads backward before bursting into a full sprint deeper into the rift. 

“KOSMO NO!” he shouts, running after the wolf. “GIVE ME THAT RIGHT NOW! HEEL! STAY! HALT!”

Lance bolts down the rift's path like an Olympic champion at the start gun, bayard clutched tightly in his hand. He quickens his pace to an all-out sprint as the image of Kosmo gets smaller in his vision. The slapping noise of his boots against the ground of the rift resonated around the space somehow, filling it with the clanging echo of his armor.

Literally out of nowhere, an arm darts out in front of him, clotheslining him hard enough that Lance is knocked backward, the force sending him crashing on his back, spread on the ground. He gasps, clutches his throat and sits up to see the looming figure of the Galra Emperor. 

Lotor’s look was unforgiving.

“Why are you back here, Paladin?”

He turned to glare up at Lotor, his eyes watering.

“Because I missed your gorgeous face, of course,” he chokes as he tries not to throw up, clearing his throat. “I used the Rift Gate Projector you gave me...it was kind of an accident.” 

He looks down, quirking an eyebrow. “What do you mean by _accident_?”

“Not any chance you saw an intergalactic space wolf rush by here?” Lance asks climbing up to his feet, hoping the change in topic is enough to throw Lotor off. He motions in the air between them. “About this high? Blue? Likes to transport between dimensions?”

Lotor takes one look at him and then realization graces his features like he just smelled a fart in an elevator. He sighs.

“What was the one thing I told you not to do?”

Lance pouts, crossing his arms and kicking the ground, a small purple rift creature puffs up. He mumbles something incoherent under his breath.

“Sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you.” 

“I said lose the Rift Gate Projector!” 

“And what did you do?” 

Lance groans and Lotor tsks.

“Paladin…”

“I lost it okay! Are you happy now?!”

“Of course not, you lost the Rift Gate Projector!” Lotor looks at him in exasperation, clearly frustrated with whatever Lance was failing to understand here. “Do you not realize that the fate of the entire universe is on your shoulders?” 

“Would you stop lecturing me?” Lance fights back, feeling his temper begin to flare. “I obviously know this, I wasn’t made a paladin yesterday!”

Lance shoves past Lotor and begins stomping through the rift in hopes to find wherever Kosmo had run off with the device. At least then he could go back to where he came, and maybe even go back a little earlier and stop Keith from getting his ass handed to him for the umpteenth time.

“Could have fooled me,” Lotor calls after him, and Lance glares, spinning on his heel to flick up his middle finger in the air for the other man to see.

“Does _this_ fool you, asshole? Or did the Galra Empire not have any books on being told to go screw off?”

Lotor frowns and Lance turns back to walking, but only a few steps later does he see his unwelcomed travel companion appears again in front of him like he took a secret shortcut to appear ten steps ahead of him. Looking over his shoulder, Lance sees he has moved. 

“How did you-”

“You marching around in here without any idea where you are going is dangerous,” Lotor interrupts, arms crossed over his breastplate. “Not to mention stupid.” 

“I know where I’m going.”

“Is that right?”

“Yes, I’m looking for a blue space wolf who has my one-way ticket out of here,” Lance says, thumbing over his shoulder. “Then I can leave and hopefully never see your ugly face again because in my reality you died in the rift and now your mom is ruining everything.”

“Oh, you’re at that part of the timeline already?” Lotor hums as if they’re talking about something pleasant and not his own fate. “Things are about to get interesting for you.” 

“You mean more interesting than Keith nearly getting pummeled to death by your pal Zethrid?” Lance bites and the other man looks stunned. “Yeah, in my reality he’s basically on death’s door. So thanks for that.”

Lotor’s brows knit together, bringing a hand to his chin, “That’s...different.”

“What do you mean?” Lance stops in his tracks. “Was that not supposed to happen in the timeline?”

Lotor pauses and looks up at Lance, face stern and jaw clenched.  They stare at each other for a moment and then he’s moving again, hands curling at his sides, legs shifting to stand at an odd center of weight.

Is he...fidgeting?

“Lotor, what aren’t you telling me?” Lance looks up to glean his expression but he’s still not returning his gaze.  “Buddy, you gotta work with me here.”

Lotor sighs, stepping forward and Lance follows since there’s no other indicator that there’s anything else he can do.

“The timeline you’re in is slightly different than what Slav and I were anticipating,” he explains. “That is to be expected, though, as every reality is different in its own way. However, it could be that the timeline is veering off course and my concern is that because you are aware of the multiple realities, it’s causing the timeline to erode on itself.”

“But I didn’t _want_ to know any of this,” Lance argues back. “You and Slav were the ones who pulled me into here during my d-” He hesitates and Lotor gives him a skeptical look, and he clears his throat. “My dinner with Keith.” 

“I suspect you don’t want to know how that was different than your other reality?” Lotor asks a white eyebrow perking and Lance can’t help but feel his face flush. What did Lotor know that he didn’t? Were Keith and him uninterrupted in his reality? Did they...close the deal? Lance’s thoughts may have spoken for him because Lotor turns away, quickening his pace. “Whatever you’re thinking, it’s most likely incorrect.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’ve seen all the realities when my mother destroyed them,” he says, turning to stare at Lance seriously. “I told you this before, Paladin, but the reality you are in is the only one left with a chance of defeating my mother and that’s because the timeline is playing _differently_ than the one you’re originally from.” 

“Shouldn't I know, though? I feel like I should know about my own past reality so I know what not to do in this one,” Lance presses. “I’m flying blind here and I don’t know what I’m doing, and currently in the reality I’m in Keith is out of commission, Allura hates my guts, and Shiro can’t concentrate on ATLAS because he’s in a neverending break up with Adam.” 

“If you know what has happened, then you’ll break your own timeline trying to make things work in the way you want and not the way they need to,” Lotor stops where he is and holds out his hand. Quickly two small rift entities float into his palm, circling each other. “Time and reality hold a delicate balance. Although you are in a different timeline, Slav and I were able to determine that you understanding that my assistance is needed for your victory is just small enough of a change to help the domino effect of time to do the rest.”

“And if I knew too much, suddenly I’m pushing stuff out of order and corrupting the timeline,” Lance finishes and Lotor nods.

“You cannot travel between realities without traversing through time and vice versa. When we pulled you from your previous reality and placed your consciousness into the body of yourself in this reality, you transcendent both reality and time. For whatever reason, you are the key to the major events that will lead to our only path of victory.”

“To defeat Honerva?” Lance asks and Lotor nods, around them the rift shakes again and he looks up.

“Currently, Allura is in a stalemate battle of Altean Alchemy against Honerva to keep this small bit of reality intact, but she won’t be able to do that forever,” he turns to Lance. “When you are able to rescue me from the rift in your new reality, I will be released from here and able to work with your team to support Allura in defeating her, thus saving realities.” 

“But Honerva is trying to find a reality where you still exist because you’re dead,” Lance says, somehow thinking if he reminds himself of the facts that he knows, the scrambled mess of time being pulled apart around him won’t break whatever sanity he has left. “You died in the rift, so what part of you are we saving?”

Lotor shrugs, the creatures around them in the vast nothingness scattering. He begins to walk forward and Lance, not knowing what else to do, follows.

“I suppose I did in some realities,” he says, hands swung behind his back, armor still as polished as ever. Lotor always did take decent care of his appearance, and Lance figured even if he was between realities that wouldn’t change. “In others, I’m alive and awaiting one of you to realize how much you need me to defeat my mother and one of you make a daring rescue to bring me back.” 

“Oh yeah? Which one of us takes that up?”

Lotor’s eyes shine as he looks over his shoulder, “I’d love to tell you, but I feel it may hurt your feelings.” 

Lance feels his ears warm, frowning with a huff, “I still have a gun, y’know.”

“By all means shoot the person who is leading you through your journey,” Lotor drones, his boots echoing against the floor. “Good luck finding the exit to this trans-reality rift and reuniting with your friends after murdering your own personal Virgil - _again_.”

“Wow, you’re really pressed about the whole leaving you in the rift thing, huh?” 

“Some feelings may have been hurt, yes.” 

There’s another shake from above them and Lotor braces himself, looking behind them and through gritted teeth calls, “It’s another tremor!”

A wind tunnel overtakes Lance and he falls to his knees in an effort of grounding himself from the force. He’s trying to keep his eyes guarded with his arm as rift creatures blow past them. From the corner of his eye, he sees Lotor extends his arm out towards him, “Grab my hand!” 

Lance hesitates, but as the wind grows stronger he throws caution to it and takes hold of the clawed hand, holding tight. 

“Brace yourself, there’s going to be a flash of a past reality,” he calls over his shoulder, and Lance looks ahead and sees a bright pink blast of light quickly making its way towards them. “It’s just a vision! Focus on my hand and do not let go!”

He doesn’t have time to hear anything else before the light takes them over, and the air is pulled from Lance’s lungs like he missed a step on the stairs. It’s like watching a movie on fast-forward and rewind at the same time as images appear to him. 

_Shiro standing in front of a memorial at the Galaxy Garrison._

_The soft orange light on Keith’s face as he laughs with him from the top of the Black Lion._

_Allura in his doorway, hair down with a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes._  

_Soft lips on his._

_The sweet smell of an Altean flower he can’t name._

_A tight hand in his when the ATLAS lifts off._

_The cool chill of fear when a gunshot goes off and Lance turns and sees Keith holding Zethrid by the wrist._

_A heavy hand patting his back in his under armor as Keith hugs him and reassures him they’re alright._

_Keith and Allura both looking at him, seeming slightly heartbroken as they speak to him._

The images stop like someone pulled the plug and Lance finds himself in the same spot he was before, Lotor’s hand still in his and the world around them silent. Lance isn’t aware of how tightly he’s holding onto to Lotor until he unclenches his fingers.

“Are you alright?” he asks, softly as Lance pulls away. “The first experience with one of the tremors can be difficult to process.” 

Lance swallows dryly, “I saw things...they were different.”

“Your previous reality, most likely.” 

“Lotor...I….” he swallows again, almost unable to get the words out before turning to look up at the other man, unable to find a better way to ask. “Were Allura and I…”

He stiffens but quickly recovers and turns around, “Let’s keep going before another one hits.”

Lance watches the other man move ahead, with long strides still full of purpose. He picks himself up and falls into step behind him. 

They keep walking and soon a tall tower that looks a lot like a radio transmitter comes into view and Lance rubs his eyes with the heels of his palms to make sure he isn’t just seeing things.

“What the quiznack is that?” he asks behind him. “How long have you been in here that you built an entire cell tower?”

“Three deca-phobes, we’ve been through this.” Lotor’s answer is earnest and it makes Lance feel a little bad for his obvious question. Still, it was difficult to keep up with everything that was happening.

“Why?” Lance settles for and quickly Slav pokes his head out of the tower, scowling.

“Because we are going to use it to fix all of the realities, Paladin!” Slav lectures before adding. “At least it’s a very slim possibility, but it’s better than the alternative.”

“I can’t explain to you now why this tower is important,” Lotor admits, turning back to Lance. “And there’s a good possibility that when I’m pulled out of this dimension, like you, I will not remember anything besides from that reality.” 

“Which is why I will be here to man this transmitter and work in the lab inside to help move you two along,” Slav finishes, tapping the leg of the tower with pride, before turning to Lance. “There is a me in your reality, correct?” 

“Yeah and he’s just as weird.” 

“Perfect! Tell him to make sure Sam Holt changes his socks.”

Lance doesn’t know what to say to that, so he ignores it turning back to Lotor, “Is there any way I can get a new Reality Gate Projector or are you gonna cut a hole in reality again?” 

“That won’t be necessary,” Slav explains as Kosmo appears between them, making Lance jump in shock. “There was a 98% chance he would appear once he realized nobody else was chasing him.”

“Does that statistic have something to do with the timeline?”

“No,” Slav says turning back to reenter the lab in the transmitter. “I knew eventually he would get hungry.”

He closes the door behind him and Lance holds out his hand, putting on a stern voice he’s picked up from Keith, “Drop it.”

With a whine, Kosmo obeys and the small device that’s now covered in drool lands in his palm. Lance frowns, turning to Lotor.

“Is this thing drool proof?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Lotor shrugs. Then with an elevated step, the space wolf comes to his side, looking slightly less massive when next to Lotor’s tall frame. At first, the Galra Prince is curious, then as he crouches there is a deep-bark. "Oh," he says, “Are you feeling afraid, little one?”

His voice as sweet as sugar, it sounds odd to Lance’s ear. He wasn’t used to Lotor being so soft, and the part of him that was still suspicious of his new ally was still nervous that the fear Kosmo was warning against was warranted.

The threat becomes clearer when a large rift creature appears behind Lotor, looming over him like a gooey, dark, shadow. 

“LOTOR!” Lance calls, pulling out his blaster. “HIT THE DECK!”

Lotor drops without hesitation, pulling Kosmo with him to keep him out of the fire of Lance’s blaster. With three shots in rapid succession, the monster dissipates. A silence falls between them, and Lotor releases his hold around Kosmo and climbs to his feet. 

"Thank you," he says, sincerity in his voice. 

Lance swallows hard, feeling a little awkward at the praise.

“Yeah...uh, no biggie,” he says, looking over his shoulder. “We should get you both back to the rift gate so you can return to the reality. Then you’ll be-"

He’s interrupted when Kosmo whines and pads closer to his hand and, after a few sniffs, gives a lick. “Kisses? Why thank you.”

“Typical,” Lance sighs, resting the blaster on his shoulder. “I do all the work, and you get the kiss.”

Lotor gives him an unimpressed look and soon Slav is bursting out of the lab, looking more haggard than before. 

“What are you both still doing here?” Slav screeches, looking between Lance and Kosmo. “Every tick you spend in here lessens the chance of me having a successful test with the reality stabilizer by-“ 

“Alright alright, we’re going!” Lance shouts, hands up in surrender as his bayard returns to his hip with a light. “Please don’t tell me the odds, they’ll just depress me."

“For what it’s worth, our chances have increased to .000000012%.”

“Yay,” Lance deadpans taking hold of Kosmo by the scruff and holding the Rift Gate Projector up. “Alright, wish me luck. Smell you two on the other side of this rift, hopefully.”

Lotor smiles, “Best of luck, Paladin.”

Lance waves and with a press of the button another white flash takes him back.

In his wake, Lotor turns to Slav who is beckoning him inside the transmitter.

“I’m happy you came,” he says, picking up a wide,  round, metal device from the table. “There is a 78% chance you and the Red Paladin came here so I made sure to complete the prototype.”

“Thank you, Slav,” Lotor says, picking up the device and twisting it between his fingers. “It looks like we’re ready for the next step.”

“Are you ready?” 

“No,” he admits, placing the device on his head like a crown. “But I never am when it comes to her.”

 

* * *

 

 

Lance is unceremoniously thrown out of a supply closet, back in his Garrison sweats, falling out with a loud clattering of the collection of brooms and mops that resided inside. Kosmo jumps over his fallen frame with an excited bark, licking his face, before teleporting off. With a groan, Lance looks up to see Ryan Kinkade staring at him blankly, taking a long sip of a water pouch as he stands in the hallway.

“Hey Ryan,” Lance laughs nervously, pushing himself up to disentangle himself from a bucket that had gotten caught on his foot. “What’s up?”

“Not much,” Kinkade continues to drink, removing the straw from his mouth with a loud pop, “You good, man?”

“Me? Oh, I'm stellar,” Lance lies, laughing almost manically as he kicks the bucket off his foot and shoves the brooms, mops and other cleaning supplies back in the closet with a shove. He turns around to see Kinkade still staring. “Um...you cool with pretending this never happened?”

“Yup.”

“Cool...cool...cool…” Lance continues his nervous laughter as he bursts into a sprint, rounding the corner back toward the med bay. His sneakers squeak against the tile as he passes Colleen Holt, and nearly crashes into Leifsdottir.

“Jesus, slow down, McClain!” Adam scolds when Lance dodges him with a spin in the hallway.

“No time!” Lance calls back, pausing before adding, “Adam, tell Slav to tell Sam Holt to change his socks!”

“Uh...okay?”

Lance turns back, but not in time to see where he’s going. All he sees a blur of pink before he crashes into someone, sending them both tumbling to the ground, hard. The papers his victim was carrying raining around them.

“LANCE!” 

The upturn of his name is enough for him to know exactly who he hit, and his eyes are blown wide with fear when his suspicion is confirmed and Allura is sprawled beneath him.

Blushing would be no problem, but what Lance does is go as red as his lion and radiate heat like a hot pan. You could have cooked a three-course meal on his face. No-one could have missed it. He wanted the earth to open up and swallow him whole. He wished the ATLAS could suddenly be as haunted as the Castle of Lions and actually shoot him out into space. There was no rescue from this embarrassment. It was absolute. Torture. Utter humiliation. This memory would be seared into Lance’s brain forever, ready to pop up and torment him again even when he’s retired and in a nursing home surrounded by his grandchildren. 

He’s pulled from his crisis when Allura hits his arm, “Lance!” 

“Right! Sorry!” he stammers, pushing back on his heels so she can pull herself from underneath him. Lance feels his face burn, his ears matching as he frantically begins scooping up papers. “Gah, I’m so sorry, Allura! I didn’t mean to crash into you!” 

“Lance.”

“I shouldn’t have run like that, Adam was right.”

“Lance.”

“Now all your stuff is everywhere and I’m all my fault, I’m so sorry-”

_“Lance.”_

Allura’s voice finally reaches him. Their eyes meet and her hand covers his own. 

"Are you alright?" she asks.

Her hair is out of its tight bun, pulled back into a loose ponytail and she stares at him softly. His words get caught in his throat, as the memories rush forward from the rift.

She smells sweet, like the Altean flower.

He looks at her soft lips and even though they’ve never kissed, he somehow knows how they feel pressed against his. 

_Depending on the reality you set up, either your or my lover…_

“I've been meaning to speak with you, but we've both been rather hectic," Allura whispers and offers up a nervous smile. Lance felt it in his stomach and his hand curls tightly around the paper, crinkling loudly.

“Oh my god, I’m gonna be sick!” Lance blurts feeling nausea rising up into his chest. Allura’s eyes widen comically as he shoves the paper towards her and bolts to the med bay. 

The doors swish behind him, and Lance is relieved when he’s the only one there and nobody has followed him. He takes deep breaths, gulping down air to calm his frazzled nerves as he hugs his arms to his chest. He wishes desperately for the support of the one person he can’t speak to right now.

Lance makes his way to Keith’s room, where he’s sleeping peacefully, machines humming around him. Swallowing hard, he pulls over a chair to his bedside and gently takes his hand into his own, rubbing small circles around the calluses on his palms. He isn’t sure why, but just feeling Keith’s warmth is enough to calm him down. 

“I don’t know what I did before,” he chokes out, voice breaking as he tries to fight back hot, nervous tears. “But I think I really hurt you, Keith. I think I broke your heart.”

Keith’s eyes remain closed and Lance brings his knuckles to his lips, pressing a ghost of a kiss against them.

“And I think I broke my heart, too.”


	4. Back In Your Head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You seem pensive, Princess.” 
> 
> He was an apparition, no more than a distortion of the light, a cut out of colors that weren't quite right. The time he spent with her was never set, sometimes spending entire quintants with her, and others he’d disappear as quickly as he came, not leaving so much as a hand impression on the windows of her bedroom.
> 
> She rarely answered him, but today felt different.
> 
> The mood felt different.
> 
> “I miss home,” she answers quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from Tegan and Sara’s “Back In Your Head"

Allura leans against the observatory window, the sequin-silver stars like the scattered embers of a dying fire winking around her, illuminating the inky black curtain of space.

She closes her eyes, allowing the sounds of the ATLAS echo through her. The creeks of the ship were familiar, but nothing like the Castle of Lions that was once her home. Unlike her castle, the ATLAS was cold and militaristic. It was a method of transport, a tool of war, and completely Earth-based. The small bits of Altean magic was from the core that was left behind when the castle was sacrificed, similar to the crown jewel she used to save Shiro’s arm.

Flexing her hands, Allura looks down at her palms, turning them slowly as she remembers all she’s lost since she’s began fighting this war.

_“You seem pensive, Princess.”_

Allura glances up at the figure that had once terrified her but has since become an appreciative presence. Sitting across from her, dressed in the royal armor he wore after their trip through the rift all those deca-phobes ago, Lotor looks at her softly.

He was an apparition, no more than a distortion of the light, a cut out of colors that weren't quite right. Where he moved the world behind him appeared bowed, as if he existed through a mild fish-eye lens. The time he spent with her was never set, sometimes spending entire quintants with her, and others he’d disappear as quickly as he came, not leaving so much as a hand impression on the windows of her bedroom.

She rarely answered him, but today felt different.

The mood felt different.

“I miss home,” she answers quietly, eyes back at the window.

He doesn’t answer, but she knows he understood.

He always understood.

“Allura?”

The soft voice rips her from her thoughts and she sees Romelle in the doorway, peeking in as the light drips in behind her. Allura can tell by the lines between her brow that she’s concerned, and was probably looking all over the ship for her.

It doesn’t surprise Allura that Lotor disappears the moment the other Altean appears. It’s not like they were exactly _friendly_.

“There you are,” her voice sounds relieved as the door slides closed behind her and she makes her way to where Allura is sitting, taking a seat next to her. “The mice were getting worried, and even though Coran and I can’t communicate with them like you, they kept following me around until I told them where you were. It’s been vargas since they saw you at breakfast, so I think they were getting restless without you.”

It has been nice to have another Altean and Romelle was friendly. However, even though on the surface they appeared to be similar in age, there were centuries between them. Traditions that Allura remembered that their people celebrated were long lost by the time Romelle and her colony existed. And the ones the blonde did remember, she would often attribute to “ancient Altea” - a constant reminder that not only is Allura a woman without a home, but she is also a woman out of time.

“I didn’t mean to worry anyone,” she admits, pulling up a smile she hopes is comforting. “I was simply looking at the stars.”

Romelle nods and turns to look at the window, “It still seems so strange to me how...large the universe is. Especially when you compare it to what we were used to at the colony.”

“Did you ever venture off the colony?” Allura asks and Romelle shakes her head.

“Only when Krolia and Keith flew me to the moon base,” she admits, looking down at her hands. “Where we saw Lotor’s experiments.”

The reminder hits Allura’s heart like an arrow, the words managing to wind her. It still confounds her that the same man who brings her so much comfort could’ve been capable of something so sinister against their own people. Then again, Honerva was using Alteans as her personal army.

A comforting hand rests on her arm and she looks up to see Romelle smiling at her softly, “Allura...I know that what happened with Luka was unfortunate-”

“She died, Romelle,” Allura bites bitterly, causing Romelle to flinch, and if she’s being honest, it’s a little satisfying. Maybe she wants to be a little bitter. Hasn’t she earned that?

The guilty look on Romelle’s face proves otherwise.

“Luka and I didn’t always see things the same way, but she was my neighbor and my friend once,” she sets her jaw. “She was one of Lotor’s most ardent supporters, so if you’re right and that evil witch Haggar is Honerva, Lotor’s mother, then...well, I understand why the other colonists may not trust you right away.”

“They don’t trust me at all.”

“But they _will_ , just like I have and how I know Bandor would have,” Romelle says, taking her hand and squeezing tightly. “There are other colonists who may not be as easily warped as Luka, like Tavo. Your vision of peace, the end of the war that Honerva is setting across the universe, the pain that Lotor caused...you are our true leader, Allura. You mustn't forget that.”

 _“Comforting words uttered by a fool are still foolish,”_ another voice whispers in her mind. _“All the power of the universe at your fingertips, but without a crown you flounder?”_

Allura squeezes her eyes shut, trying to mentally expel the words from her mind.

_“You are more capable than you believe, Princess.”_

Allura feels him leave again, opening her eyes in time to see Romelle turn when the door slides open again, revealing the forms of Matt and his partner N7, tangled limbs and giggling. Allura wasn’t exactly sure how they were able to be affectionate, and she wasn’t interested in finding out. Clearing her throat loudly, the two lovers jump from the other as if she splashed them with a bucket of cold water.

“A-Allura!” Matt stammers, as the LEDs on N7’s mask somehow turns into a shade of red, steam seeping from the edges where their mouth would be. “Um, we were just looking for a place to-”

“Find extra styluses for the board room!” N7 finishes, looking around frantically while holding Matt’s hand tightly. He laughs, louder in a high-pitched panic.

“You were looking for styluses on the observatory deck?” Romelle asks, arching an eyebrow.

“Right! Yes! Ha ha...wow, maybe that’s why we had such a hard time finding them! We sure are silly, huh babe?”

“Very silly, darling!” N7 says, pulling their boyfriend out from the room with whatever dignity they have left. “Okay, bye now!”

They flee and Romelle sighs, climbing up to her feet, “I suppose we should head out, in case any other mooning couples are looking for a place for some privacy. I swear all humans ever want to do is smash their faces together and do that weird thing with their tongues.”

“Do you mean kissing?” Allura asks as Romelle extends her hand to help her up.

“No, talking,” she sighs exasperatedly and Allura can’t help but laugh. The sound seems to perk the other girl’s spirits, as she intertwines their hands together and Allura lets her friend drag her out of the room. As they pass through, Allura swears she sees Lotor’s phantom leaning against the door a smirk across his handsome face. Both knowing full well that she'd indulged in a similar kind of mischief during their days building Sincline. Her ears warm at the tip from the memories.

Making their way down the hallway, it doesn’t take long to find Hunk, Pidge, Veronica and the MFE Pilots gathered by the two-way glass that showed the hangar below.

“What are you all looking at?” Allura asks and Hunk leans back to wave and point at the glass.

“Acxa’s getting a tongue lashing from Keith’s Galra Mom and Kovilan!”

Allura grimaces. In the days since Keith was injured, it took less than two quintants for the Blade Leaders to pause their mission to find any surviving members and hurry to the ATLAS. When they landed a quiet rage had drifted through the ship, and only Shiro and Adam were brave enough to interact with them, providing the state of Keith’s condition and recovery. Not even the paladins were willing to venture into that conversation.

“That’s pure unadulterated Mom Rage,” Lance had explained after he was unceremoniously kicked out of Keith’s room. He's since made a comfortable spot for himself at his bedside waiting for him to wake up. “I don’t even want to be a fruit fly in Krolia’s vision right now, let alone Zethrid.”

Allura squeezes between James and Ryan Kinkade to watch the scene unfold below.

“I don’t know anything about Galra other than what we all know, but Keith’s Galra Mom looks ready to murder Acxa,” Kinkade says, turning to James who raises an eyebrow.

“I’m just happy she wasn’t around when we were kids.”

“Yeah dude, imagine if instead of Shiro, she went to Sanda’s office after you guys got into it during Junior Cadet practicals?” Hunk shakes his head, hand on his hip. “You would not be here today, my friend.”

“Or you would, but with fewer limbs,” Rizavi offers, nose pressed to the glass next to Pidge. “Ugh, I wish I could read lips! This looks like some delicious drama!”

“Maybe I should grab my camera…”

“Oh my gosh, Ryan, yes!”

“What would you even record?” Romelle asks, interrupting Kinkade and Rizavi's creative brainstorming in the hall. “We don’t speak Galra.”

“I believe I can decipher it!” Leifsdottir offers and leans over Allura's shoulder, eyes squinting as she concentrates on their mouths. “They are saying-”

The noise that comes out of her mouth was the loudest and most upsetting sound Allura has ever heard, and she grew up with Coran’s yelmore yodeling.

The group slowly turns to her, flabbergasted.

“Ina,” Kinkade manages, looking at her in disbelief. “What was that?”

“Very angry Galra,” Leifsdottir says matter-of-factly, turning back to the scene. Veronica brows furrow as she nervously chews on her thumbnail, a tell that Allura noted she shared with her younger brother. She sighs.

“I feel bad for Acxa. She’s just trying to start a new life here, and now she’s getting pulled into this mess with Zethrid and Keith.”

“Awww,” Pidge teases, leaning back to look up at the older woman with a wide grin. “Are you worried about your new Galra _girlfriend_?”

Veronica blushes, turning to the side indignantly, “She's not my Galra girlfriend. She's just a Galra girl who I think could use a friend right now, okay? Drop it.”

“Sounds like a Galra girlfriend to me,” Rizavi mumbles under her breath before Veronica pitches her arm until she squeals. “Ow! Abuse of power! Abuse of power!”

From the corner of her eye, Allura sees Lotor leaning against the glass, watching his former right-hand get chastised. Meeting Allura's gaze, he tilts his head towards the scene before vanishing again, giving Allura enough time to spot Krolia and Kovilan turn around.

“They’re looking up at us!”

“Cheese it!” James calls, and they scatter like mice before getting caught snooping at the window. Romelle grabs her hand and sprints, tugging her away. Allura is swept up in the chase, feeling her spirits lift a little in the complete mundanity of the action.

After running for a few hallways, she ends up in a group with Romelle and Pidge in one of the transport hallways of the ship. Sighing, Pidge crosses her arms behind her head as she walks.

“Well, there goes today’s entertainment,” she sighs, disappointment evident in her voice. “Who would’ve known fighting in a space war would be so _boring_?”

“Is it more boring than the Castle of Lions?” Allura asks and Pidge frowns.

“Back on the castle my parents weren’t with us and I could stay up as long as I wanted to get actual work done,” she explains, thumbing back to where they just passed Colleen Holt’s nursery. “Now? I’m on near constant supervision and can barely get a line of code done before I’m being pulled in to help my mom repot plants or my dad reset his digital watch.”

“Isn’t your father one of the most skilled engineers in the galaxy?” Allura asks, arching an eyebrow. “Why is he struggling with his watch?’

“Exactly! Matt and I don’t get why he has such a mental block about his stupid watch, but he’s always messing it up!”

“Speaking of your brother,” Romelle pivots, leering at the other girl. “Allura and I got shooed out of the observatory deck by him and N7 looking for a place to-”

“LA LA LA!” Pidge yells, covering her hands over her ears. “I DON’T WANNA HEAR ABOUT MY BROTHER AND HIS CYBORG GETTING PHYSICAL!”

“Pidge, everyone knows-”

“DO RE MI FA SO LA TI DON’T KEEP TALKING!” the smaller girl continues, and Romelle sighs in defeat.

“Okay, I’ll let it go! Just stop making that awful noise!”

The two continue bickering as they turn the corner to the medical bay. It dawns on Allura that with Krolia and Kovilan in the hangar, now was probably one of the few moments when Keith was alone since he awoke.

 _“Some unfinished business, Princess?”_ she hears, seeing Lotor lean crossed-armed against the wall to the medical unit. She ignores him, turning to Pidge and Romelle.

“I’m going to check in on Keith,” she says, stopping. “I’ll see you both at dinner.”

Pidge and Romelle exchange a look, and eventually Romelle shrugs and waves goodbye.

“If you see Lance in there, tell him I want my Power Glove for Killbot Phantasm back!” Pidge calls and continues walking with Romelle.

As they leave, Allura hears their conversations faintly.

“I'm telling you, Hunk is right. A total love triangle, just like our cartoon.”

“Keith and Allura, though? I mean...she has shown to have a certain affinity for half-Galra men…”

Allura sighs and makes her way down the hallway.

 _“Killbot Phantasm? Did those words make any sense to you?”_ Lotor asks, knowing better than to wait for the response that will never come. _“I always liked the smallest Paladin, even though she tried to sell me off to my father. She was intuitive, so I can forgive her lack of judgment.”_

The door of the med bay swishes open and Allura sees the window that shows inside Keith’s hospital room. Pidge was right in her assumption, Lance is there leaning back in his chair, long legs extended as his feet rest at the end of Keith’s bed. He's peeling an apple with a knife and chatting excitedly as the other boy rests against his pillow, throat still bandaged as his larynx continues to heal. Although awake, Keith’s voice box was next to useless until he healed, but it looks like Lance is talking enough for both of them.

The scene seems so simple, and not for the first time does Allura feel a little bad interrupting their small moment of peace together.

Keith notices her lingering in the doorway first and waves to her, and Lance looks over his shoulder with a small smile, popping a slice of apple into his mouth.

“Hi, Allura! Wanna hear Keith’s new voice box?”

The glare Keith gives Lance indicates that he’s not nearly as excited as he is, his face flushing a pink as he kicks the other boy’s feet off of his bed. Allura takes a seat next to Lance.

“Ow! Don’t hit me!” he pouts, reaching over to the small device buried in the blankets on Keith's bed. It’s a tiny, red cube with speakers on three of the four sides, which he hands to Keith. “C’mon, show Allura what Pidge made for you!”

Keith’s glare doesn’t subside and he slaps Lance’s hand away to grab a legal pad and paper, scribbling quickly before turning it around.

 

 **_No_ ** _._

 

“Keith! It doesn’t sound that bad!”

Keith flips the legal pad and adds more writing, turning it around.

 

**_Liar!_ **

 

“Don’t fight with me via paper, you dick!”

Around goes the legal pad and just as quickly, Keith flips it while also flipping him in the finger.

 

**_Eat shit!_ **

 

Lance groans turning to face Allura. “Pidge made him a transmitter to help him communicate with us while his voice heals.”

“Oh, that’s practical!” Allura says turning to Keith, who makes a noise that sounds like a groan. Lance swats his knee as a reprimand.

“Stop that! Remember, the medic said you’re still using your larynx even when you’re making weird Galra growls!” Lance scolds, ignoring the look of complete disdain he’s getting from Keith. Allura can tell he's not getting anywhere with trying to negotiate.

“Keith, may I please hear the voice box?” Allura asks politely, hands folded in front of her. “I’d like to talk to you about some things.”

Lance raises an eyebrow and turns to Keith with a pressing look. Eventually, the other boy relents and extends his hand out for Lance to hand him back the red cube. When he takes it, he sighs and presses it against his throat.

“Hi, Allura,” comes the voice and it’s so high pitched it sounds like one of the mice inhaled helium. It catches her off guard and pulls a laugh from her that she tries (and fails) to cover up as a cough. Next to her, she sees Lance bite the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling.

Keith was right, Lance was a liar. The voice is awful.

“Now say form Voltron!” Lance tries and Allura has to elbow him in the side to keep from losing it.

“Screw you both!” the squeaky voice says right before Keith hurls the cube, ricocheting off the wall and flying across the room.

“KEITH!” Lance screams, sliding along the floor in his socks to scoop up the device. “Team Punk will have my head if you break this!”

Keith gives him the most aggressive thumbs up Allura has ever seen, as Lance stomps over to pull his boots back on, waving the device in Keith’s face.

“Fine! I’ll bring this back to Pidge and Hunk to fix the voice!”

Allura watches as Lance turns and heads out of the hospital room, murmuring under his breath about “ungrateful leaders” as he marches right through Lotor's spirit and shudders. He pauses, looking around the room in confusion.

“Uh, does anyone else feel a draft?”

Lotor stares right at Allura who answers, “Nope.” Popping the _p_ for emphasis. Lance's eyes narrow, turning around to the door again.

“All Alteans ships are quiznacking haunted,” he mumbles before turning into the hallway to call out, “PIDGE, PRINCESS KEITH DIDN'T LIKE THE VOCAL BOX YOU MADE HIM BECAUSE HE SOUNDS LIKE A DYING HAMSTER!”

The door shuts behind him with a hiss and Keith leans back against his pillow, covering his eyes with the heels of his hands.

 _“The Blue Paladin is such a loud mouth,”_ Lotor hums, taking a seat on the empty bed next Keith. _“I struggled before to figure out what it is you saw in him, but recently I must admit his charms have begun to grow on me.”_

It wasn't the first time Allura couldn't follow whatever riddle her new imaginary friend was weaving, and she knew it wouldn't be the last. It was best to ignore him, focusing instead on the _real_ person in front of her.

“He cares about you a lot, Keith,” Allura assures, tucking her feet under her to sit in a more comfortable position. “He was absolutely miserable while you were unconscious. It was as if he was shackled to this wing until you woke up. Shiro and Adam had to carry him back to his bedroom at least three times.”

Keith's lips twitch, a hint of a smile that she can feel he's fighting. He takes the pad and paper again and scribbles

 

**_Shiro and Adam, huh?_ **

 

“Yes, it appears they're trying to develop a kind of -” Allura pauses, her eyes flickering to where Lotor's ghost sits patiently. “Civilized uncoupling.”

Keith snorts, knowing just as well as she’s learning how _uncivilized_ that uncoupling is behaving. He scratches another note.

 

**What did you wanna talk about?**

 

Allura sighs, twisting her hair around her fingers before tossing it over her shoulders. It was no secret that there was tension between Keith and her like they were constantly at two ends of a rope trying to make the other yield. It was different than what she had felt when Shiro (or rather, his clone) would question her decisions.

Oftentimes it felt to Allura that Keith was doing things just to be difficult, and if she was being honest, she wasn't much better. Her stubbornness had always been one of her greatest weaknesses, Coran had warned her. That and drawing. Luckily the later hasn't been necessary for any sort of interplanetary coalition meetings.

“I wanted to make sure things are okay between us,” she relents, leaning forward to look at Keith from her seat. “Things have been tense since...well, since you returned from the Blade of Marmora, to be honest.”

Keith looks down at his pad, brows furrowed in thought as he taps his pen nervously against his thigh. Allura isn’t really sure how to read his expression, which is part of the problem. They always seem to be on different pages, sometimes not even the same book. She sighs.

“I understand that our roles have changed a lot since we started Voltron,” she continues. “And while I may not have always agreed with your leadership style, I recognize you as the Black Paladin of Voltron.”

Keith raises an eyebrow, which Allura reads as skeptical. She ignores it because she’s diplomatic.

“We must work together in order to defeat Honerva or we don’t stand a chance. You know this.”

Keith nods and Allura takes a breath.

“I wanted to apologize for the things I said to you when we were lost in space,” she admits, looking down at her folded hands. “I know better than anyone how difficult it was for you during that transition to being Black Paladin and how hard it was for you to make the decision to work with Kolivan. To say that you ran away and left us was unfair of me, and for that I am sorry.”

Scribbling quickly, Keith flips his notepad again.

 

**I’m sorry too. About what I said about Lotor.**

 

Allura’s breath hitches in her throat, seeing the name written out in front of her. Reminding her that the man who had been haunting her for quintants had existed once. He wasn’t just a ghost.

 _“Apology not accepted,”_ Lotor huffs, legs crossed as he leans his chin on his fist _. “Although, I doubt I have much say in the matter.”_

“You don’t,” she mutters and Keith gives her a look like she’s crazy.

And maybe she is.

Lotor vanishes again and she clears her throat, sitting up with a smile, “Thank you, Keith. I’m happy we can be friends again.”

The next answer is instantaneous.

 

**We’re always friends.**

 

His quietly downcast eyes are hard to make eye contact with and once again Allura feels like they’ve taken two steps forward, three steps back. There was still some unresolved _thing_ between them, and Allura wasn’t sure how else to unearth it.

There’s a knock on the door and Allura looks over her shoulder to see Krolia enter.

“Apologies Princess, but it’s time for Keith’s medication and it's getting late,” she says, making her way to Keith’s bed. Keith’s face falls and Krolia’s eyes narrow at her son. “When you nearly die in battle and need to recover you need to take disgusting Earth medication. It serves you right for being reckless.”

“Of course, I’ll leave you to it,” Allura raises from her seat and heads for the door.

“Oh and Princess?” Krolia calls and she stops in her track. “If you see the loudmouth meandering in the hallway, tell him to come back tomorrow. Keith needs his rest and can’t be up all night _pining_.”

Keith’s face goes beet red as he throws his legal pad at his mother, who dodges it easily. Allura doesn’t have a chance to ask what she means before an alarm rings across the ATLAS, Shiro’s voice resounding through the intercom.

“ATLAS crew, clear the south entrance! We're bringing on passengers! Do not engage! Repeat, do not engage with the passengers!”

Allura's eyes narrow and she lunges into a bolt, knowing full well what Shiro meant.

They’ve captured another Altean pilot.

Turning the corner, she makes her way to the south entrance where Adam is clearing the doorway and Nyma appears in her suit with Rolo and Beezer rolling behind her. Next to them, two tall Altean men were handcuffed. Both were tall with blue marks, one man with close-cropped hair and olive skin, the other with shaggy dark hair that had fallen out from his ponytail. On their hands, which were cuffed together, were matching Altean betrothal bands.

“Sup, Bigger Voltron,” Rolo greets, saluting with two fingers against his forehead. “We intercepted these two during our patrol.”

“Their ship wasn't as sturdy as the others we've come across,” Nyma explains. “They weren’t as skilled as Honerva’s other pilots, meaning they’re running out of bodies.”

Behind her, Allura hears the patter of Romelle and Lance's boots as they skid to a halt. Romelle gasps and Lance looks down to her.

“You know those two?”

“That’s Ephraim and Reks,” Romelle shakes her head like she can’t believe what she’s witnessing. “They weren’t warriors, they were alchemists. What are they doing fighting for Honerva?”

Allura feels Lotor before she sees him, his lips ghosting against the shell of her ear.

 _“This war is sparing no lives, Princess,”_ he hums. _“Those men are no pilots, they are skilled Altean alchemists. Why do you suppose my mother would need them for?”_

It strikes Allura like lightning, she turns to Lance and grabs his arm, “We need to get those men to the infirmary!”

“What? Why?” he looks back at where Adam is taking them to the holding cell. “They look fine?”

“Honerva is using them!” she grunts, pushing forward through the crowd. “Adam! Stop!”

“Allura?” he asks, holding the prisoners. “We need to bring these two to the holding cell for question-”

“No! These two are powerful Alteans, which means they have a strong connection to quintessence,” she turns to the taller one, who refuses to look her in the eye. “If they’re anything like Luka-”

“We’re nothing like her!” the longhaired Alteans snaps, pulling against his cuffs. The laser connecting the two braces strains at the force. “We would never tell the likes of you anything! Not after what you did to Lord Lotor!”

“Reks, that’s enough!” the other Altean, now clearly Ephraim, scolds. He turns to glance at Allura coldly. “Do not provide them the satisfaction.”

Shiro appears behind Adam with Coran at his side, pushing past him, “Gentlemen, I’m Captain Takashi Shirogane of the IGF-ATLAS. We don’t wish to harm you, we just need information.”

“That’s exactly what we were told you’d say,” Reks grumbles, and his eyes land on Romelle. “Oh, of course, she’s with you.”

Romelle clenches her jaw, “Reks, please. It doesn’t need to be like this - we can help you! Allura, she can-”

“SHE CAN DO NOTHING BUT HARM US, YOU FOOL!” Reks shouts, lunging forward and dragging Ephraim with him. The other man tries to steady himself while the two Garrison grunts hold them. “YOU ARE A TRAITOR! YOU HAVE NO LOYALTIES TO ANYONE! NOT EVEN YOUR BROTHER!”

He leans forward towards the blonde to tear her apart with the no holes barred attack like there was nothing too low for him to say. Lance shoves him backward.

“Back off, man,” he warns, his patience getting tested. He turns to Adam. “You better listen to Allura and get these guys out of here before something happens.”

"Allura, give them room!" Shiro barks and she ignores him. She outranks him anyway.

She senses Lotor’s presence by her side. Sending bits of electricity tingling through her hands, like static.

 _“You feel it too,”_ he assures. _“I know you do.”_

The ship fills with tension as the Altean pilots glare at Allura, their blue marks a contrast to her pink ones. They tilt at the ends, curving towards their eyes.

Reks’ eyes flash and before anyone could react. He’s glowing. There's something wrong.

Everything plays before her as if someone had opened a book to the last page and shows her.

"He's a bomb!" she hears Lance call out, and she feels the tug of her shoulder before anything else.

A hand she hasn’t felt in ages. She does a double take and sees that she can feel him, and but the look of shock on Lotor’s face he doesn’t know how he’s doing it either.

She reaches out, her hand on Reks’ chest, and feels the energy there. It’s quintessence, like what she knew from the rift, but darker. It’s sinister.

It’s Honerva.

Every bit of electricity that courses through her erupts from her body like a dormant storm. Allura feels the power pouring out, draining her of everything before going dark. As if a fuse had blown in her mind from a power outage.

The last thing she sees is a dark purple rift entity leave Reks' chest.

* * *

 

She runs her fingers through in the fresh green grass of Altea as she sits cross-legged, it’s beautiful blue mountain peaks behind the fields. She flings her braid over her shoulder, her hair getting in her eyes. Her skirt must be getting dirty from where she’s sitting, and her mother will be furious.

It’s the kind of day even a feather could fall without drifting one way or the other. The grass is straight and silent, the leaves dangling more as if they had been painted there. Should a person be able to feel the beating of the birds' wings,  that would have been the only breeze.

It was still, utterly still.

_“Allura! Allura!”_

She hears her name, and turns, unable to recognize the figure. It’s a man, he must be Altean by the look of his ears and hair, but he’s taller and broader than any man she’s met on her planet.

She reaches for him, but he’s too far away.

 

* * *

 Allura wakes up with a start, sitting up quickly to see that she’s back in her dormitory. The mice who were sleeping beside her tumble forward into her lap.

“You’re awake.”

She turns and sees Coran sitting at her bedside. By the look of the dark circles under his eyes and the forgotten book next to him, he had stayed up to watch after her.

“How long have I been asleep?”

“A few vargas.”

“What happened?” she looks around her room trying to regain her bearings, the mice cuddling into midsection as she strokes their fur in comforting circles. “I remember there being Alteans...and then nothing.”

“Honerva planted a rift creature in one of the Altean pilots we brought onboard,” Coran explains, holding up a hand when Allura’s face gives her away. “He’s alright, he’s in the medical bay recovering now.”

“Thank the Ancients.”

“It wasn’t the work of the Ancients, it was you,” he says, taking her hand in his. “You were able to neutralize the rift creatures right as they made themselves known within the Alteans. Pidge and Sam were able to contain them, but how were you able to do that?”

“I...don’t know,” she admits softly, raising her head up in hopes to see a now familiar ghost. Nevertheless, she was alone. “It felt like an instinct.”

“Princ-“ Coran huffs. “Allura…the alchemic magic that you performed at that moment was more powerful than anything I’ve ever seen. Not even your father was capable of that kind of strength.”

Allura pulls her hands away and Coran lets out a sigh. He’s about to say something else when they’re interrupted by the familiar ring of an alarm across the ship, Shiro’s voice booming through the intercom.

“ALL AVAILABLE PALADINS TO THE BRIDGE!”

She turns back to Coran and with a quick nod they fall into a familiar rhythm, Allura asking questions, him providing answers as he follows her to the bridge.

“Has Keith’s condition improved?” she asks and he shakes his head.

“Not since this afternoon.”

“But we have Hunk, Pidge, and Lance?”

“Affirmative,” Coran jumps as said paladins jog out of their rooms. “Well speak of the quldrats, it’s Number Five, Four and Two!”

“I don’t know what a quldrat is, but I feel like I should be insulted,” Hunk says as he joins in lockstep. Next to him, Lance frowns at Coran.

“Coran, did you seriously demote me to Number Four?”

“It’s not a demotion, it’s just height. Keith is taller than you now, so you are no longer Number Three.”

“That’s some blazalhoochas! I totally still have a few centimeters on him!”

“I don’t think you’re using that word correctly,” Pidge notes as they turn into the bridge, Shiro behind the control console. He spots Allura and smiles, seeming relieved.

“Princess, nice to see you’re up.”

She nods. “What’s going on, Shiro?”

“Sam and Slav were able to collect energy signals from the rift creatures, so we tried to use that to trigger a wormhole to a quadrant that matched. But we overshot it and-” the ship shakes violently, and the crew braces themselves before a looming shadow appears in the monitors.

“Captain, it’s coming back!” Adam shouts, turning to Shiro. “Do we fire again?”

“No, it just made it angry last time - get out of its range!”

“Got it!”

“What is that thing?” Hunks asks, squinting his eyes as the shadow rolls and dodges. When it gets closer, Lance is to first to realize with a gasp.

“Oh my god,” he looks at Shiro. “Are we about to get vored by a tentacle monster?”

“Lance!” Veronica calls from her station as they barely avoid getting hit by one of the monsters massive arms. “This is not a good time!”

Allura feels a throbbing start at the base of her skull. A vibration she first felt when she awoke in the Castle of Lions, and again when Blue’s barrier lowered for her.

“When is a good time to acknowledge the craziness of our giant mech-ship getting taken over by a literal hentai trope?”

“Literally never!”

“Paladins, focus!” Shiro scolds, turning back to Allura. “We’ve already sent the MFEs out to try to corral, but they don’t have the firepower needed. I know with Keith out of commission you can’t form Voltron.”

“Not only that, but I think there’s something wrong with the lions,” Allura says, pressing her fingers to her temples. “I...I can’t explain it, but they’re pulling me.”

Lance holds her shoulder, steadying her on her feet. “Do you need to rest more? Me, Hunk and Pidge can handle this.”

“Not as well as we could with all the lions and the big robot cat man,” Hunk adds. “But yeah we can do it.”

Allura shakes her head. “No...they need us there. We must get to the hangar.”

“The four of you go,” Shiro orders, turning to Coran. “We need you here on the bridge. Once the paladins are in their lions, we’re gonna need more eyes on the prize.”

Coran salutes and takes a seat next to Sam, and the paladins rush to the hangar where their lions sat.

Only, it wasn’t what they were expecting.

“Paladins!” Shiro calls, opening the video feed to the hangar. “What’s taking so long?! The MFEs can’t hold the monster off forever!”

“Uh, yeah, so we have a situation here, Shiro,” Pidge says, turning to where Lance and Allura were standing. “The Red and Blue lion’s shields aren’t descending.”

“What?! Why?”

“We aren’t sure...but here’s the crazier part,” she says, taking the camera and turning to the tallest lion. “The Black lion’s shield did come down.”

“But Keith is-”

“Yeah, I know,” Pidge swallows hard before turning back to Shiro in the monitor. “We think it’s for Lance.”


	5. Shine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hey Keith," he grins, thumbing back where the Black Lion is parked. "I got your lion back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey gang! This chapter is long, so I hope you enjoy character banter, emotional confessions, plot twists, and romantic build up. 
> 
> If not then...uh...hope you enjoy anyway!
> 
> Chapter title is from James Landino’s “Shine

Sparks burst from the headpiece as Lotor thrusts back into his consciousness.

"Ah!" Slav screeches, scurrying from the control monitor to rip the headpiece off of Lotor. "It's going to burst into flames!"

"What…happened?" Lotor slurs, still groggy from projecting himself through their reality. He barely can follow as Slav chucks the device and sprays it with a fire extinguisher that seemingly has materialized out of nowhere.

"I've kept warning you that there was an 87% chance of the conscious projector overheating and setting itself on fire, but did you listen? Noooo!"

"Let me know when the repairs are complete," Lotor sighs, closing his eyes. "The timeline is beginning to splinter off, and I need to help her."

"Her?"

"Them! I need to help them!" The Galra Prince huffs, rubbing his face in exasperation. "They're practically useless without my guiding hand."

"From what I saw through the monitor you were doing a lot more than guiding," Slav mumbles and Lotor kicks at him softly, no desire to make contact. Slav ignores it. "Is the Paladin cooperating at least?"

"As much as one can expect."

"Ah, that's why we're still in .000000012% success rate territory."

Lotor peeks between his fingers. "I thought we were at .000000015% after I made contact through the conscious projector?"

"It was until you began to overuse it, thus increasing the likelihood that you die from overexposure, your brain funneling out of your ears because you can't help but overstay your visits to that reality!"

Lotor doesn't respond. Instead, he watches as Slav continues to repair the projection device. The engineer sighs.

"It's draining you. I notice the way your nose was bleeding. To continue to use the conscious projector can put you at risk for-"

"Don't be foolish. As if I care about that."

"You cannot save anyone if you are dead yourself!" Slav warns, wielding his screwdriver at him. "Especially the Princess."

"This is not how I die, Slav," Lotor says, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes again. "You and I both know that."

Slav gives his companion a loaded look. With another sigh, he goes back to his work.

"Well, there's a 5.04% possibility that you are wrong, and we are not taking any chances here!"

 

* * *

 

Lance has held a lot of titles in his life - son, brother, student, cadet, cargo pilot, Blue paladin of Voltron, Red Paladin of Voltron.

He was satisfied with Red Paladin being the last of those titles. Really.

"Lance!"

"Nope, not happening," he huffs, crossing his arms stubbornly away from Pidge. "I'm just gonna wait for Red to get over whatever is bothering him and then we can be on our merry way."

"Dude, why are you acting like this?" Hunk presses, looking more concerned than angry. "When we were all trying to see if we could pilot Black you were in there for half a varga!"

"It was not half a varga! I came out right away!"

"You were in there forever, and then you got all pouty!" Pidge interjects, adjusting her helmet on her head. "Lance, the lion is choosing you!"

"No!" Lance snaps, and he can tell by the way Hunk and Pidge hesitate that his tone is more aggressive than he thought. "If the Black Lion is looking for another pilot that means-"

He gasps when he feels a soft hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he sees Allura, standing as steady as ever. His heart races, nearly jumping into his throat at the contact.

"Lance," she says, her voice soft and rounding over the vowels in his name like a dance. "Do you feel the pull in your heart?"

He swallows hard and nods. Allura squeezes his shoulder tightly.

"That's the lion calling for you," she continues. "It needs you. The team needs you."

"But what about Keith and Red," Lance gasps looking at the Blue lion's shield. "And you!"

"You can't worry about us right now."

Over the comms, they hear James call through.

"Team Voltron, where are you?" he demands, the sound of gunfire around him. "We cannot keep the target off our tails much longer! We need backup!"

The monitor over Pidge's shoulder blinks back on, and Shiro's face fills the screen.

"Pidge and Hunk, we need you both out there to give the MFE fighters cover while we figure out what's going on," he orders and the two paladins nod. The monitor zips off.

Hunk turns to Lance and Allura, his brows pinched in worry.

"We'll see you both out there?"

Allura nods, pulling a smile that even under her visor is painfully transparent. Lance continues to stare at his boots as the other pilots climb into their lions and shoot from the hangar.

Between them sits both the Red and Blue Lions still shielded, while the Black Lion waits. Lance can barely look at it without wanting to feel sick. There was a time not that long ago where he would give anything to fly that lion - to be worthy. However, now he's seen what that means to have to fill that spot, what it meant to lose Shiro and then for Keith to leave their team entirely, he doesn't want that weight.

If there were ever two people who’d influenced him the most to in wanting to fly the Black Lion, it was the two people who currently couldn't pilot it after sharing a tumultuous experience with the damned thing.

Besides him, Allura's hand has fallen from his shoulder and taken hold of his own tightly.

"It should be you," he concedes.

"There is no _should_ with the lions, Lance, you know that."

"What if I mess it up? I have no clue what to do out there."

"And you think Shiro and Keith did?" Allura asks, tilting her head to the side. "You remember as clearly as I do how borderline disastrous they were."

"I heard that!" Shiro's voice rings as the monitor turns back on, face scowling. Allura smiles innocently, and the corners of Lance's lips lift at the memory of them trying to form Voltron by stacking on top of each other like cheerleaders.

"We sure were a mess, huh?" he laughs humorlessly, and Shiro sighs over the comms.

"Lance, if there's anything I've learned being a Paladin of Voltron it's that there's no one way to lead," Shiro admits. "There's only the way that _you_ can lead."

He's about to retort when Adam calls Shiro off-screen.

"Captain! On your six!"

"My wh- _OOF_!" Shiro yelps as he's unceremoniously shoved out of the shot, replaced by Keith. He's still in his hospital outfit that basically looks like orange pajamas, his mullet is bandaged and his eyes dart wildly around the screen until they land on Lance.

He must've seen the shock register on Lance's face before he could hide it. A small smile plays on his lips when they see each other through the monitor and Lance feels Allura let go of his hand so he could walk closer to the screen.

"Keith!" he gasps, fingers reaching out for the glass of the monitor. "What are you doing up?"

Keith goes to open his mouth, before closing it quickly. Frowning, he digs into the front pocket of his shirt and pulls out the red cube, pressing the voice box against his still bandaged throat.

"I felt the lions," the voice speaks through the tinny sound of the microphone. "I felt Black call you."

It's evident that Hunk and Pidge had made updates to the device, as the voice isn't as high pitched as before, but deeper and smooth like vanilla pudding. It still lacked the sweetness of Keith's voice, that in its ordinary sort of way, was always full of richness in its tones.

At a time like this, Lance feels himself missing the comfort Keith's words provide. However, seeing him through the monitor, hair disheveled yet still in its usual mullet-shape, ushers a luxurious warmth of fondness to his heart.

"Keith," Lance laments, swallowing thickly. "I thought I would be ready for this but…"

"No one is. I wasn't. But that didn't make me any less worthy. The same goes for you, Lance." Keith's eyes soften. "Someone once told me that the Black Lion wouldn't pick just anyone. I respect its choice, and you should too."

"You aren't alone in this," Allura reveals, taking a step next to Lance and he looks over to see her still smiling. In the monitor, he can see Shiro's wisps of white hair peek behind Keith as he shoves the other paladin over to fit into the shot. In the bottom of the screen, the tiny pictures of Coran, Hunk and Pidge appear, looking determined.

"We got you, buddy!" Hunk cheers and Pidge nods.

"You've piloted two lions before. What's another one?"

The emotions come to Lance like the waves meeting the shore. They go to him, soaking his entire being as he feels the pull from Black grow stronger than before. He's anchored by the love of his team, their support and finally embraces the call. With a deep inhale, he looks up, eyes fierce.

"All right, let's see what all the fuss is about," he grins, punching in hand into his fist. "Pidge and Hunk, expect some backup!"

"Thank the food goo gods!" Hunk exhales, looking relieved. "I didn't wanna pressure anyone, but we are getting our butts handed to us out here!"

"Yeah, the MFEs are not doing well with all the extra...appendages."

"Can you hurry up before Griffin wets himself?" Rizavi calls.

"I don't like tentacles!" James cries again over the comms and Shiro shakes his head.

"MFEs hold tight; Lance is on his way out to give you cover."

The Black Lion roars again, and that's Lance's sign. He catches Allura's eyes over his shoulder, and she gives him a small thumbs up.

"Go get 'em, sharpshooter."

He grins. "I knew that nickname would catch on."

She watches him race up the ramp of Black, which closes behind him. The doors slide shut, and the elevator begins to rise to the cockpit of the lion. The anticipation he feels is an apprehensive kind of energy. It tingles through Lance like electrical sparks, and he takes a deep breath, flexing his fingers to relieve the anxiety.

_"You seem nervous."_

Lance shrieks, scurrying to the other side of the elevator car, pressing his back against the wall.

"Who's there?"

He hears an irritable sigh, and frankly, if Lance is getting murdered in the Black Lion, it'd be nice if whoever was going to do it to could take some interest in it.

_"Relax, Paladin. It's only me."_

It takes a few blinks for Lance's eyes to adjust to the dark, but soon he sees the silhouette of Lotor leaning against the wall, arms crossed. His brain stutters for a moment, every part of him going on pause while his thoughts catch up. Lotor shakes his head, his hair falling over his shoulders as he steps from the shadows, and it becomes more evident to Lance that the Lotor he's seeing isn't flesh and bone, but something else.

"Oh my god," he gasps, giving the other man a once over. "It's Ghost-or."

Lotor groans and swipes at Lance with his hand, ghostly claws fading through his torso and leaving behind a chill that freezes Lance to his core.

"Quiznack! Take a joke!" he shivers, wrapping his arms around himself. "And give me a break - you keep pulling me into dimensions, and now you're some weird phantom! Can't you send a text like a normal person?"

The elevator comes to a stop and the doors open with a swish. Lance feels Lotor follow him out as he makes his way to the pilot seat.

"How are you here anyway? Aren't you stuck in the rift?"

_"I am. I'm projecting myself directly into your consciousness using a device Slav developed."_

Lance flops into the seat, peering over his shoulder. "I thought I told you to stop poking around inside my head."

 _"I'm not in your head, I'm being projected through your head."_ Lotor points out, leaning against the back of Lance's chair. _"It's technically not the same."_

"Leave it to you to find a loophole," Lance rolls his eyes, taking hold of Black's controls. Breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth. He feels his central nervous system relax, opening himself to hearing the lion connect with him, pulling him, speaking to him.

_"Paladin, what are you doing?"_

Lance's eyes shoot open, and he turns to the ghost. "Bonding with the lion."

_"Why? Just fly it."_

"It doesn't work like that!"

_"It did when I flew with Shiro."_

"I'm not Shiro!"

_"I understand that, but please get a move on. The timeline is moving to a new plateau, and we don't have time for your breathing exercises."_

"Can you shut up?" Lance bites, turning back to swat at the spirit.

Instantly, he feels a prickle in the new connection with Black. Lance looks up to see that lion has opened a small surveillance video of outside on his screen. It focuses on Allura, staring up at them intensely. Even though Lance knows there's no way she could know that Lance and her ex were currently squabbling in the cockpit of the Black Lion to save all realities, and by extension _her_ , seeing her glare is enough to make them stop.

"Look," Lance exhales, putting his hands up in a truce. "I know you're in a rush to get this moving, but this is a big deal for me."

_"Why? You are a paladin. Flying the lions is your responsibility."_

"Black is different. It's the head of Voltron," he tightens his grip on the controls. "It means I'm worthy of something I didn't think was possible."

Lotor pauses, looking over Lance's shoulder to stare at the monitor where not only Allura was visible, but ATLAS had connected to show Keith and Shiro were requesting access as well.

 _"I understand how you must feel,"_ he admits, grip tightening on Lance's chair. _"When I lit the Kral Zera and was able to become Emperor of the Galra, I allowed myself to accept that I could be a path to bridging peace for my people. A peace my father and mother had tarnished for their own greed to drain more Quintessence. I know what it's like to suddenly find yourself in a situation you had long closed yourself off as being possible."_

Lance exhales again, feeling the pulsing energy of the Black Lion shoot through his veins. In the monitor, Shiro and Keith's jaws are both locked, watching on.

_"But there is a reason why you are the one who I was able to connect within the rift, and it's not because you need to be the head of Voltron."_

Lotor turns and faces Lance for the first time, both men in positions they never thought possible.

But that's the craziness of war, right?

From James Griffin to Acxa, unlikely allies are everywhere. Sometimes even the ghosts of your old enemies you left stranded in the rift.

Lance is always willing to take chance on people. He sees Keith and Allura from the monitor, believing in him fully. They can take a chance on him.

Now it's time to take a chance on himself.

"Thanks for the pep talk, Ghost-or. Now let's get this lion moving!" Lance grins, pushing Black's controls forward, and instantly the rest of the cockpit lights up a deep purple, making all the commands available for Lance.

The Black Lion's eyes light up with another roar, and Lance accepts the video feeds to see Shiro, Keith, and Allura all cheering. In a smaller stream, he sees Pidge and Hunk still narrowly avoiding their tentacles as the monster continues to swipe at them. Lance looks over his shoulder at his passenger.

"You may want to take a seat."

Lotor scoffs, _"I'm a projection what could go - QUIZNACK!"_

Before he can finish, Black zooms out of the hangar and into the fray, faster than even Lance is commanding, and Lotor is sent flying back to the hatch of the ship. Lance can't help but snort in laughter.

"You good, Casper?"

_"Oh shut up!"_

Lance flies into the battle, and with a powerful jaw blade attack, can rip the monster's tentacle away from where James and Kinkade are trying to escape.

"Alright, Paladins! Black Lion is back in the game!" Shiro cheers and Lance hears the rest of the cockpit of the ATLAS join in.

"Finally!" James calls through the comms. "Do you guys always take forever to get in here or do you just like to make an entrance?"

"Don't be a jerk, James." Kinkade scolds, before addressing Lance. "Thanks, BP."

"No problem. Lemme get this guy off the offensive," Lance says, turning to see where the Green and Yellow lions are. "Hunk? Pidge? You ready for this?"

"As we'll ever be, boss!"

Lance manages to get the monster's attention, luring it away from the MFEs. The beast extends its arms to the Black Lion, wanting to attack its new prey. Lance dodges, circling itself.

"Hey ugly!" he calls, dodging another foray of tentacles. "Wanna know why they called me The Tailor?"

"Oh my god," Pidge groans, her head in her hands as Hunk woos over the comms. "Hunk, don't encourage him!"

"Also absolutely nobody called you that," Leifsdottir corrects over the comms. "The taunt is factually incorrect."

Lance ignores them, setting the lion into a nosedive, luring the monster's arms around itself, weaving a small circular opening. He smirks.

"It's because how well I thread the needle!"

He pilots his lion through, knotting all the monsters tentacles around itself like a pair of tangled headphones. Zooming up, he calls for Pidge and Hunk.

"Form jaw blades!"

They both fly across to Lance's position, and all three lions form jaw blades to rip the tentacles off its torso.

“Hell yeah! Don’t mess with The Tailor!” Rizavi cheers as Pidge and her teammates give her a pointed glare through the monitor. She shrugs. “What? It’s cool!”

“Thank you, Rizavi~” Lance preens and the other pilot jokingly blows him a kiss through the feed.  

In front of them, the monster screeches in pain, its severed limbs floating off into space as its bodily fluids leak from its torso.

"Okay, ew that's gross," Hunk groans through the comms.

"Not just gross, it's ineffective!" Pidge's face appears in Lance's monitor, looking frazzled.

She's right, and Lance sees small buds appear from where they shot off, and suddenly they're facing four times more arms than they planned to fight. The MFEs zoom out, falling into formation behind the lions as they try to get some distance between them and the beast.

"Of course its arms can regenerate!" Lance whines.

Hunk floats closer to Lance. "If we can attack its head, maybe we can take it out."

"We're gonna need a lot more power than we have to do that," Pidge replies. "This guy is huge."

"Oh man, we could really use a giant robot right about now!"

Lance opens up his comms to ATLAS. "Shiro, we need backup. You think you can transform?"

"We're still low energy from the last battle. Even the bit of backup we're giving you now is all we got left," Shiro admits, before turning to another screen. "MFEs, fall back. We need less scattered firepower to take this thing out. Play defense for ATLAS."

"Got it," James sounds off, and the rest follow the battleship.

"We're sitting ducks if we can’t form Voltron," Pidge adds, unhelpfully. "And we're missing the entire right side of it right now."

"Number Five has a point," Coran says, opening up the comms to face Allura in the hangar monitor. "Princess, have you determined why the Blue Lion's shield is locked?"

Allura's face appears in Lance's view again, and by the looks of her still standing in the hangar, she was still lion-less.

"No, Coran, I haven't." Allura frowns, looking over at Blue. "And I don't know what triggered it."

"Do you need one of us to come down?" Shiro asks, looking concerned.

"I'm fine. I'll figure this out and get back to you all."

Lance's brows furrow. "Are you su-"

"Yes, Lance! I said I'm _fine!_ " Allura snaps, and with that, the line goes dead. He groans, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"I've only been Black Paladin for ten minutes, and the migraine is starting." Lance pauses when he doesn't hear the telling annoyance of his spiritual friend. "Lotor?"

Craning his neck over the chair, he searches to see if he can find him. "You still back there, my man?"

He's met with the emptiness of the Black Lion's hull.

"Lance? Who are you talking to?" Pidge's voice comes through the comms.

"Oh you know, just the voices in my head. Because I'm officially going insane."

"Well, can you do it later? We still gotta beat this guy and his six thousand arms before he gets to the ATLAS!"

"Yes, but only cause you asked so nicely." Lance pushes Black's thrusts forward. "Alright, three-fifths of Voltron, let's aim for the head!"

 

* * *

 

The monitors in the hangar shut off with a zap, taking all the sound from the room with them. Allura spins around to stare at the Blue Lion, eyes fierce and shoulders back.

She had a connection with the lions. It was left to her by her father and her most potent link to Altea. She can still feel Blue.

Pressing her hand to the barrier, Allura closes her eyes.

"Please," she whispers, her voice breaking. "Let me in."

Silence.

"Blue, please."

The barrier doesn't move, and in a fit of rage, she slams her fist against the shield.

"LET ME IN!" Allura yells, continuing to pound her fists, harder each time until her hands sting from impact. "BLUE! I COMMAND YOU! LET ME IN!"

The world blurs around her as she falls to her knees, hands grabbing at the hard floor of the hangar. She bites her quivering bottom lip with her teeth, feeling the connecting wane as does all the sounds, taste, smell until everything is gone.

Allura tries to hold back the rumbling inside her heart, but she can't. A lone tear traces down her cheek, and just like that, the floodgates open. So many tears burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down her face. Her chin trembles as if she were a small child again. Like when she was lost in the juniberry fields and couldn’t find her mother.

The aching hurt of loneliness.

She breathes heavier than she ever had before, gasping for air that wasn't there. Her throat burns to form a silent scream.

_“Allura.”_

When she hears her name, at first she hopes it’s her lion calling for her. When she lifts her head, instead she sees Lotor, all whispy in her memory. He’s kneeling next to her on the ground, which gives her the odd sense of deja vu. She clenches her jaw, closing her eyes as another sob escapes her throat.

“I’ve lost everything. My family, my castle, now my lion...there is nothing left,” she whispers, shaking her head. “I have nothing now."

_"That isn't true."_

"Yes, it is! Even the last Alteans are under the control of your wicked mother.”

Lotor stares at her and not for the first time Allura wonders if he’s ever shed a tear for all that he’s lost, or if whatever pain Zarkon had caused him stayed locked tight inside.

“Sometimes I wish my father had left me to die with the rest of them on Altea,” she spits, bitterly. “What good have I done in the 10,000 years against the Galra? What have I done besides force six Earthlings to fight in a war that nearly cost them their own planet?”

She turns to him, eyes rimmed red with tears, her arms heavy at her sides. She can feel it unraveling, the threads of every happy memory she could ever once recall from the last few deca-phobes, all but disarray of strings scattered at their feet. Lotor, as he was when he was alive, is patient.

“What am I doing? Why am I still here?”

 _“Because you have a warrior’s heart,”_ Lotor’s voice is soft, yet grounding. A difficult feat for a spirit. _“You never allow others to give up on themselves, now you mustn’t give up on yourself, Allura.”_

“What am I fighting for? For a home that doesn’t exist? A life I will never have?” Allura reaches out, and her hand passes through him. The chill freezes her to her bones. “We were so close once...we could’ve...together.”

_“I know.”_

When she had first met Lotor, she assumed he was a stoic man who never hugged or showed love. He was Galra in ways of which were always blunt, coarse and unyielding.

But their time together building the Sincline ships was different.

She saw him light up with excitement when they made a new discovery, or hold her when she was exhausted from a day of using her Alchemy. One night, when they had worked late trying to decipher ancient Altean texts, she had fallen asleep against his shoulder and she had woken up to the sound of him humming while scratching small, comforting circles into her back with his claws. It was a moment of softness where Allura felt her heart nearly burst with affection for a man she had once called her enemy. The man who proved Keith’s argument that not all Galra were to fit in the tidy little box Allura had labeled “toxic” and written off.

“I wanted to build a future with you,” she cries. “I wanted the universe to be better with you, but you betrayed us.”

She sees his hurt flash across his face, but it brings her no satisfaction.

“I hate that I still miss you,” she hisses, eyes blazing. “I hate that I wish you were here with me while I fall to pieces before a lion that doesn’t deem me worthy of being its paladin anymore.”

 _“I respect how you feel, and I wish so badly that I could do things differently. It was never my intention to hurt you, but you still have not listened to what I have and will always tell you,”_ Lotor presses, eyes steely. “ _You are more capable than you believe.”_

“I wish I could see myself for the person you believe me to be.”

 _“And I as you,”_ he smiles and it rips a humorless laugh from Allura. _“Although I think I’m starting to...slowly.”_

Allura reaches out again, her hand hesitant. “Are you really gone? Is that why you’re here? To say goodbye, too?”

He shakes his head. “ _No. I can’t explain now, but there is hope for something better. Something different. Something new.”_

Allura feels the familiar pull from the lions, but somehow it’s different.

_“And although I have no right to ask this of you, Allura, I need you to trust me. And if not me, then to trust yourself.”_

A roar rips through the hangar behind her. Allura spins around to see that a shield has lowered, but it's not for Blue.

It's for Red.

Blinking in disbelief, she climbs to her feet and stares at the lion that was once her father's. The familiar chill of Lotor besides her. The lion roars again.

She's a warrior, and she knows how to face her obstacles.

Somehow Allura feels the fleeting pressure of a hand on her shoulder.

_"Go."_

 

* * *

 

Shiro can hardly register what's he's seeing.

"Captain, the Red Lion is on the move!" Veronica says from her station.

Shiro looks down at Keith, half to make sure he isn't hallucinating, half expecting Keith not to be there, to somehow have run back in time to pilot Red himself. Instead, he sees the bright trail of light and suddenly Coran's delightful cry the control room.

"That's Allura!" he cheers, wrapping his arm around Sam Holt to shake the other man excitedly. "She's piloting the Red Lion! King Alfor's Lion! Oh, my stars!"

Allura's laughter echoes through the comms and Lance and the others call, "ALLURA!"

Her lion weaves through a pair of the monster's arms, dodging it quickly as she pulls up next to where Lance is in Black. Shiro sees Lance's face in the monitor, Hunk, and Pidge following.

"That's amazing, Allura!" Pidge beams. "That makes two of Lance's lions you pilot better than he did!"

Lance frowns, "You're so funny, Pidge."

"Thanks, I try!"

"Do you think we have enough power to take this guy out now?" Hunk asks, ignoring the two who are still arguing over the coms. Allura turns to face Shiro.

"ATLAS, do you have a reading on the power level of this thing? Why is it attacking us?"

"And why does it have so many arms?!" Lance adds, turning back to the beast. "Like, I get maybe one or two extra, but this thing has a lot!"

"Very astute, Lance." Allura quips and Lance winks.

"Thanks, Right Hand Gal!"

Shiro sees Keith wince at the exchange and grimaces, knowing full-well how the banter between the current Black and Red paladins was bothering him. He turns to Adam and Veronica at the control board, "ATLAS Crew, what do we know about this thing?"

"Not much," Veronica explains, looking at her screen. "Apparently it's called a Yulgads, and their arms are important for feeding, sensing and fighting off enemies when it feels threatened."

"Wait for a second...it attacked us after we wormholed here," Adam notes, turning to Shiro. "And we know that the trace we were following was from Honerva. Do you think maybe this Yulgads is protecting something?"

"It wouldn't be the first time an Altean used a beast like this as a gatekeeper," Coran notes, scrolling through his own records. "Altea didn't have the military might like Daibazaal, but Alteans would use their alchemy to align with stronger creatures for protection."

"Just like the Guardian on Orion," Allura realizes making the connections. "Sam, can you run an analysis around the area searching for spikes in Quintessence?"

"Yes, just give me a few ticks," he says, typing up a storm and with a ping, Shiro sees the results on his own dashboard. "Your hunch was right, Princess. We're detecting a high concentration of Quintessence from the geyser on the planetoid in front of us."

"That's not just any Quintessence, that's Pure Quintessence!" Pidge gasps through her monitor. "Guys, this is the stuff that Krolia and Keith found on that Blade Mission! This is next level stuff!"

Keith's fist hits the console in frustration, running his hand down his face. Shiro places a hand on his shoulder, "This isn't your fault. When Honerva took out the Blade of Marmora, she took out anyone who could have protected that."

The look of guilt doesn't leave Keith's face as his eyes shift away.

Lance's voice comes back across the comms. "Pidge, you think if we distract him, you can cloak down and give us a visual?"

"You got it!" Pidge shoots off while Allura, Hunk, and Lance fly in the other direction.

"What else besides these ships could they have?" Hunk squawks, as he shot around the monster, in hopes to deter it without adding more arms.

"Uh, a massive gun to protect the Pure Quintessence?" Pidge offers and quickly everyone's screens are filled with the feed from their lion. "Something like that?"

"Pidge send us the location for that gun." Shiro orders, opening James' comms. "MFEs, you still hanging?"

"As tight as we can," James answers, face filling the screen next to Lance's. "But if you're about to order us to snipe that gun, we got an issue."

"Is it that you're just so jazzed to shoot down that giant gun that you're going to explode from happiness?" Adam asks, resting his chin in his hand. Shiro sends him a pointed look, knowing full well that Adam's dry sense of humor was not landing with the pilot. It's ineffective as he shrugs. "You know it's gonna be bad news, I'm just trying to be optimistic."

"Negative, Commander Wright." James answers and Shiro was right to assume he didn't pick up on Adam's sarcasm. "We're low on power, and we can't get to the gun with the monster in the way."

"We are also very not jazzed," Rizavi adds. "We're negatively jazzed."

"Lance," Shiro calls, pulling up the Black Lion comms again. "Now that you have Allura in Red, do you think you have enough firepower to take out the Yulgads?"

"We're trying!" he grits, and Shiro sees the formations they're flying around the monster. "It's difficult to get a direct shot when we're all in separate lions!"

"If we could form Voltron we could!" Allura calls, as Lance flying to her side to protect her from one of the arms.

At the name of the robot, Shiro feels something throb in the back of his mind. Something familiar. When Allura turns to him through the monitor, he can tell she feels it too.

Keith turns up at him, and Shiro pretends he doesn't catch Adam looking too. He shakes his head.

There's no way it's possible.

He was the Captain of the IGF-ATLAS. That was enough.

He didn't need to be a Paladin anymore.

"Shiro?"

He feels another pull and looks up to see that Allura is looking to him. He reaches for the control panel.

"Keep on the monster, Voltron. We'll let you know if we have enough power to provide assistance."

He’s trying to focus on the mission, but he can feel Keith staring at him now too and snaps, “You should go back to the med bay. It’s not safe here.”

Keith’s eyes narrow and he looks up at him with a glare that wordlessly reads, _I will kick your ass, oldtimer_. He obeys, though, and slowly makes his way out of the bridge and turning into the hallway. Shiro lets out a breath he doesn't realize he's been holding.

He continues to feel the pull and he grits his teeth, almost missing the pressure on his shoulder. Looking up, he sees Adam, his long chestnut bangs covering the scarring along the side of his face. He motions to the door with his head and Shiro feels his feet leading him to follow him into the hallway.

When the door of the bridges closes behind them, Adam turns to him.

“You’re being called to the lion aren’t you?”

Shiro freezes, “H-how did you know?”

“You’re a terrible liar for one,” Adam sighs, crossing his arms. “Also, you kept looking at the security camera to the hangar so I saw the Blue Lion’s shield go down.”

“Adam...I..." Shiro stammers before landing. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

He tilts his head, and it’s an old habit that Shiro recognizes from when they were dating. It’s the face he always made when Shiro said something truly outrageous, like they should try to go vegetarian or that he semi-adopted an orphan kid from the desert.

“I can’t leave the crew,” Shiro looks down at his Altean arm. “I gave up being a Paladin.”

Adam stares at him, eyes sharp under his glasses before asking, “Don’t you miss it?”

Shiro’s silence is enough of an answer.

"Captain-" Adam pauses. "Takashi...the last time you wanted to go on a dangerous mission because you felt a calling, you never came home."

Shiro looks away. "I know."

"And I wish I supported your decision back then, but I won't make the same mistake twice."

The confession knocks the wind out of Shiro's lungs. It wasn't even something he wanted or needed, but to hear the words makes his heart do tiny somersaults in hope. Adam reaches out and takes his hand. It feels familiar and warm.

"Adam-"

"We don't have time for this right now," he says, hand squeezing. "You need to go."

Shiro swallows hard and nods before turning around and calling over his shoulder, “Keep the team together! Head the console, you’ll know what to do!”

He barrels around the corner and down into the hangar, sure enough, he sees the Blue Lion with its shield down. When he approaches, the ramp comes down, welcoming him in. Shiro smiles.

“Thanks, Blue.”

The warm press he feels in the connection feels like blowing the dust off an old book. When he makes it into the cockpit, he takes the controls with both hands. Quickly the monitor lights in response, and he opens the comms for the rest of the lions.

“Blue Lion online!” he announces, and the clamoring of everyone spikes he mics. He winces at the feedback as he soars out of the exit. “Providing backup!”

“SHIRO!” Lance and Allura call in unison.

“OH MY GOSH, HE REALLY IS A PALADIN AGAIN!” Pidge calls. “SOMEONE TELL CORAN!”

“I see it, Number Five and the irony is not lost on me.”

“Wait, if Shiro’s with us and we’re in space,” Hunk says, looking around. “Then who’s piloting the ATLAS?”

Adam’s face appears over the comms as he leans over the console, giving a small two finger salute, “We gotcha covered, Voltron!”

“Man, I love it when a plan comes together!” Lance grins, turning to his teammates. “Is it cool with everyone if I do the honors?”

Allura nods from her monitor and Lance beams.

“FORM VOLTRON!”

 

* * *

 

The one thing the ATLAS had that the Castle of Lions lacked is monitors all over the ship that give a feed to the goings-on in battle. This was an update Keith is happy that Colleen brought to her husband and Shiro after their fight against Sendak, with the feedback of, “If you’re gonna ruin everyone's day by transforming, it’d be nice for the rest of the crew to see what we’re transforming for!”

Keith watches his friends form Voltron without him, and while he knows he probably should feel some sort of envy, he can’t help but feel a surging sense of pride.

Years ago, the lion musical chairs within the team had forced nothing but anxiety from him, but now they were a well-oiled machine that was able to pass batons and pick them up as needed. Keith isn’t sure if he had anything to do with that, since Shiro, Allura, and even Lance were far more impactful on the team than him, but he relishes it in all the same.

 _“SHIRO, YOU’RE A LEG!”_ He hears Hunk call through the comms and Shiro’s chuckle is full of giddy excitement.

 _“Now I get what you mean about forming the head with the leg,”_ he jokes. _“Maybe you were on to something, Hunk!”_

 _“Hey! Stay in your lane, Shiro!”_ Lance scolds, but Keith can tell that his tone lacks any malice. He smiles.

Watching Lance lead makes him feel his heart expand in his chest, enjoying seeing the rest of the team regarding the other paladin live up to his true potential. Even if the idea of someone else in the Red Lion made his heart ache.

Nope. Not doing that again.

He was going to be happy for his friends, no matter what the outcome.

"Hey."

Keith turns and catches a glimpse of Acxa on a bench, blade in her hand as she meticulously polishes its gleaming surface.

"Your mother told me to come find you and drag you back to your room," she tells him, knowing full well that he couldn't reply.

She's starting to be able to read him well, but before he could make a break for it, she motions to the other end of the bench.

"Sit. Watch the end of the battle. I know you're worried about your friends, and I don't think Krolia can get any madder at me for bringing you back a little late."

With a nod, he shuffles to the bench, crossing his arms over his chest and they watch the screen together. Acxa turns to him.

"He makes a good Black Paladin," she purses her lips. "I see the same fierceness in his sister."

Keith gives her a suspicious stare, watching as her thin brows arch and a hint of a blush tints her cheeks. "What? I notice things!"

Once Voltron is formed, it doesn't take long for them to take out the Yulgads and the MFEs to make their way to the planetoid.  

"ATLAS, get ready to pull back," Lance instructs over the comms and Adam approves. Keith sees the red lights in the hallway indicate that crew should brace for a hyperspace jump.

"C'mon," Acxa hums, pushing herself up to her feet and sheathing her blade. "I'll escort you back to the medical wing. You should be in be-"

"Hey, Team Voltron, you still there?"

They hear the cracking of the call, and Keith and Acxa both turn back to the monitor. The pilot's voice sounds rough like he's trying to hide his nerves. Lance's face emerges on the screen.

"Yeah, what's good Kinkade?" he asks.

"We're on the surface of the planetoid and what Pidge saw wasn't a gun."

Keith sees Lance's brows knit through the monitor. "Then what is it?"

"Connecting feed now," Kinkade says, voice cracking over the comms.

Next to Lance's feed, comes a small picture from Allura's cockpit, a soft crimson hue surrounds her face. When the feed connects, they see a broken waste of desert, two enormous, golden suns hang over the edge of the barren world.

From the sand, peaks a gray and purple horn that looks deceptively like a barrel of a gun. Around it, James, Rizavi, and Leifsdottir are removing dirt and sand, revealing that it's actually a shoulder.

Kinkade flips the feed around, back to his face, "It looks like a mech."

Keith sees Allura glance up through her monitor. Next to him, Acxa stiffens.

"No...it can't be." Allura's voice quivers, and suddenly, her mic is spiked. Every monitor across the ATLAS goes black.

An alarm sounds and Acxa grabs Keith by the bicep, pulling him back, "We gotta move!"

The ship shakes, and they're thrown against a wall. The monitors spark back on with shady feeds. They see the red eyes of a purple and gray robot soaring towards Voltron.

It's Sincline.

"TEAM, WE GOTTA MOVE!" he hears Lance orders, and Voltron flies back, barely avoiding the swipe of Sincline's claw. "ADAM, CLEAR THE HANGAR! EVERYONE BACK TO THE SHIP!"

"ATLAS crew, clear the north entrance!" Adam's voice fills the announcement system.  More alarms sound, indicating the hangar's hatch is reopened for the Voltron ships and MFEs. Keith rips himself from Acxa's hold, sprinting the opposite direction.

"KEITH!" she calls, but he's already heading to the hangar.

 

* * *

 

Lance braces himself for another blow when there's a blood-curdling scream over the mic that he instantly recognizes as Allura.

"Lance!" Shiro calls, his face appearing on Lance's monitor.

"I know, Shiro!"

"MFE fighters are in the hangar, Commander Wright!" James informs over the comms. "Team Voltron, where are you?"

"Kind of busy, Griffin!" Pidge says, before turning to Lance. "We're not gonna hold for much longer with Allura-"

"I said, I know!"

"Look out!" Hunk yells and Lance looks up to see that Sincline is now behind them, charging an ion blaster.

He manages to lead them out of range of the blast, but the other robot is so fast it and smashes into their side with an electric punch.

Allura hunches over her controls, meaning their right hand is completely useless. Lance knows they don't have much time as Voltron at this rate.

"Lance." Shiro's voice rumbles over the comms and he knows what he's implying but goddamn it to break apart now would be too risky and leave Allura a sitting duck.

Adam's face appears across all their monitors.

"Voltron, you're clear to board! Hurry up!"

"We can't get close to ATLAS without luring Sincline to your location!" Lance calls, and Pidge's face appears on his monitor. "Pidge, I swear if you're not here to give me an idea..."

"We gotta bait him."

"That's a bad idea, so I'm ignoring it."

"The only time this robot hesitated was when it heard Allura's voice! You saw how it drained her! There's a connection-"

"No!" he slams his fist on the controls. "We're not leaving anyone as bait!"

"Lance, it's me it wants," comes a small voice and through his monitor he sees Allura, looking pained and breathing heavily. "We need to break apart so the lions can get back to the ship."

"But what about you?" Lance presses, shaking his head. "No, I'm not leaving you behind."

"I know you won't," she smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "But you need to let me go. We can't win like this."

"And we can't do anything without you. I can't let that thing hurt you."

"You won't," her eyes are shining now, and Lance can't tell if it's from tears or just the magic that is Allura. "I trust you."

He swallows any other argument and sets his hands back on the controls with a heavy sigh.

"Voltron...disengage."

They break quickly, leaving five separate lions floating in space before the giant robot. Lance signals for Hunk and Pidge to head back first, while he is Shiro stay behind. Their intuition is proven correct when Sincline lunges at the three of them instead, giving the two lions a clear path back to the ATLAS.

"This can't be him," Lance grunts, narrowly avoiding another attack as he falls back with Shiro, leaving Allura alone. "Lotor...Slav...now would be a great time for one of you to do one of your alternate reality magic tricks."

Unsurprisingly, nothing happens.

Lance and Shiro continue to bolt back, and from his monitor, he can't help but watch as Allura stands alone before Sincline. The fighting stops, and it's just to the two of them floating, wordlessly trying to communicate with the other. Once they're halfway to the ATLAS, Shiro turns to Lance.

"Ready?" he asks, and Lance nods.

They push their controls in unison, sending out a strong tether that latches onto the back of the Red Lion. It roars in surprise as Shiro and Lance yank it backward quickly, the three lions tumbling through the hangar before Sincline can follow.

"ADAM, NOW!" Shiro commands, and with that, the ATLAS makes the jump, and they're halfway across the galaxy.

Shiro and Lance climb out of their lion both asking the other quickly, "Are you alright?" before jumping to the Red Lion to climb up its ramp to the cockpit where Allura is hunched over in her pilot seat. Shiro unbelts her as she falls forward into Lance's arms.

A weird sense of deja vu overtakes him, but he pushes it aside, "Allura?"

"You were supposed to leave me," she hisses, hands gripping the edges of his armor. She turns her head up to look at them. "You both were!"

"We weren't going to leave you," Shiro assures, reaching out to rest his non-robotic hand on her shoulder. "And we couldn't let Sincline get the lions."

She faces him again fully, her eyes suddenly clear of any hesitation. They blazed with determination instead. "That wasn't Sincline - that was Honerva. She's controlling it, which means she's also controlling Lotor."

“Then Lotor must still be alive,” Lance says and Allura studies them both for a quiet moment before Shiro takes her from his hold.

"Let's regroup with the team and take it from there," he says softly, and she nods, falling almost limp against his chest. "Woah! Do you need me to carry you?"

A flush creeps across the princess' face as she tries to collect herself again but fails.

"My legs do feel shaky," she finally admits, and a laugh is pulled from Shiro as if she hooked it with a rod. "Do not make fun of me!"

"I'm not!" he lies, turning around so she can climb on his back. "Here, put your arms around my neck."

Lance raises an eyebrow. "Where is she supposed to hook her leg without your elbow?"

"I think I can manage," she assures, and with only a few adjusting she hitches on Shiro's back as securely as possible. "Alright, lead me down, Captain."

He carries her down with Lance following behind cautiously. When they're at the end of the ramp, she climbs down and leans against Shiro's side.

"...Lance."

The croaky voice pulls him from the scene, and Lance turns to see Keith, hair windswept and face flushed as if he ran there because - oh he did run there. His eyes are shining, and Lance can't hide the nervous laugh that pulled from him, affection filling his heart like warm tea poured in a cup.

But because it's still Keith, he can't help it.

"Hey Keith," he grins, thumbing back where the Black Lion is parked. "I got your lion back."

And then Keith tackles him in a hug, so they both fall backward in a tangled mess of limbs. He holds him tight, pressing his face against dark hair to muffle the mix of laughter and tears as the leftover adrenaline drains from his body.

 

* * *

 

Slav screeches as sparks burst from the headpiece again, and he shuts down every control he can reach with his many hands.

"Lotor!" he calls, scurrying over to the Galra prince to yank off the device. "Lotor! Can you hear me?"

Slowly, the yellow of Lotor's sclera show as he opens his eyes, "Slav…"

"Oh thank stars! This means we aren't in the possibility that Honerva captured Sincline and you're being pulled into the-" He stops with a squeak when Lotor grabs him by the front of his shirt. He stares at the other man as blood begins to drip from his nostrils. Looking down, the claw that holds his shirt is fading. The scientist gasps. "No...no, that's not supposed to happen! Not in this reality!"

"It has...my time is limited," Lotor struggles, each breath being harder than the last. "We have one last chance."


	6. We Run This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Are we full Voltron, yet?” Rizavi asks, mic fading in and out between shots. “This feels full Voltron.”
> 
> Right when Pidge is about to answer, the wall in front of them blasts outward in a blow of an explosion. The three women shield their faces with their arms as smoke and rubble tumble out. From the other side of the wall, Acxa climbs over the pile of steel and smoldering glass, Romelle hoisted on her back, unconscious.
> 
> “Oh...um, hello,” she greets, nodding to the Altean on her back. “I found Romelle.”
> 
> “Annddd now we’re full Voltron,” Pidge notes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *comes back after a month of not updating with Starbucks and a new chapter* Ayeeee wasn't it so weird that Voltron had all these awesome female characters and didn't do anything with them?
> 
> The chapter title is from "We Run This" by Missy Elliott

The Z610 Atrocious is one of the last great vessels remaining of the Galra Empire. Large, sturdy, and full of enough quintessence to power a planetoid.

And Crulaz is a proud junior commander, fresh off of transfer training, preparing for his first day of duty.

He isn't going to lie, it's been a rocky few deca-phoebes. After Zarkon fell and Lotor ascended the throne of the Galra Empire, it felt a bit dicey. Of course, Lotor's disappearance wasn't great either. Let's not add the whole civil war between Commander Sendak's Fire of Purification and everybody else. Luckily, Empress Honerva made herself known after the Empire lost control of Earth and Sendak got himself killed.

Crulaz was never a fan of that guy, anyway.

But onward and upward, as they say!

Sure, the universe seems dark now, but that doesn't stop Crulaz from tackling the quintant. He stands at his locker, unlocking it with a cheerful whistle, revealing his uniforms and helmets.

Some days, even when all seems grim, a happy tune can make all the difference. As they also say, one can't vrepit sa solo!

And that's when he turns to his left and notices the blaster pressed into his cheek.

Slowly he looks up to see the owner is wearing a mask, but they're broad like a Galra.

"Catchy tune!" Crulaz hears behind him, and when he turns, he sees two more masked people. The one speaking sounds feminine although they're smaller. They also have a blaster, and it's pressing against his ribs. "You come here to rock out?"

"I -" he panics, feeling the cold metal of the blasters on his skin.

"Your uniforms or your life," the masked Galra woman commands. Crulaz eyes his locker, apprehensive.

They didn't train him for this during orientation.

Before he can think to grab his gun, he hears the unnatural humming and a gloved hand of the third woman covers his face, shocking him, and he's out cold.

He falls motionless on the icy tiles of the locker room floor.

"Well, that worked."

"I can't believe you were bantering with a Galra," Allura hisses, pulling off her mask and turning to the shorter masked woman.

"Hey, cut me some slack!" Veronica exclaims, lifting her mask to rest on top of her head. "I thought we were doing _the thing._ "

"What's _the thing_?" Acxa challenges, removing her mask to dig into the locker. "The only thing we were doing was getting the uniforms."

"You know the thing where we double-team the bad guy and distract him with witty banter until -" Veronica karate chops the air. "POW! You take 'em out?"

"Why would we waste time doing that when we both have blasters?"

"To send a message!"

"That's foolish," Acxa shakes her head, and Veronica pouts, crossing her arms over her chest.

Allura rolls her eyes, tapping the com on her helmet. "Beta team, you're clear to drop."

"Augh! Finally!" answers Pidge's voice. A ceiling tile shifts and Pidge and Romelle drop elegantly, followed by one of Pidge's new Rover models. "What took you so long?"

"I don't think the Galra washed their air vents in the last 10,000 years!" Romelle complains, wrinkling her nose.

"Veronica was bantering," Acxa replies and the other woman glares.

"Ever think maybe those less than stellar team-up skills of yours is why your frenemies ditched you?"

"Negative, it was because they were tyrannical space pirates and I blew up their ship, nearly killing Ezor." Acxa digs out three uniforms from the locker and hands them to Allura and Veronica. "Bad news, that's all our friend had here."

Romelle looks down at the unconscious grunt. "Why don't we just break open another locker?"

Pidge scans the space. "They booby-trapped the doors. The second one of us tries to force one open the whole place triggers an alarm."

"Why would they bother with that?"

"To avoid exactly what we're trying to do now." Pidge sighs, scanning the rest of the room.  

"Very well, I suppose we're going to have to improvise as usual," Allura says, tapping her comms. "Omega team?"

"Yes, Princess?" Rizavi answers. "You ready for Ina and I to sweep in?"

"Unfortunately no, there's been a change in plans," Allura explains turning to face Romelle. "We're going to need you two on defense in case things go-"

"Full Voltron?" she offers. Pidge groans and Allura smiles.

"Yes, full Voltron."

"You got it, Alpha team. Omega team out."

The comms close, and Allura turns to Romelle with a mischievous curl to her lips. "How good is your shapeshifting?"

 

* * *

 

 

Pidge holds her head high as she is pushed through the winding hallways of the Z610 Atrocious Galra cruiser. Her arms are pinned behind her back as three helmeted guards push her forward.

Cuffed next to her is Romelle, dressed in Allura’s pink armor with the visor tinted and covering the top of her face. Having been able to shapeshift, she's now the height and skin tone of Allura. For the time being, the disguise appears to be working.

“Keep it believable,” Acxa hisses under her breath, dressed in full uniform with her helmet covering her face. Next to her, Allura and Veronica are in the same disguises, blasters pressed hard against Pidge and Romelle’s backs. She leads them forward while Galra troops hoot and holler as they pass. “Act captured until we get to the control room.”

“Grrr!” Pidge acts, thrashing and pulling Romelle forward with their joint shackles. “I can’t believe I, Pidge, the smartest paladin, was captured by you stinky Galra! Grrrr!”

Veronica groans. “Actually, go back to just being quiet.”

The Rover unit was able to provide them with an updated map, but the ship’s zigzagging passages are complicated. Allura surveys the halls, trying to get a sense of where they are in comparison to the central control hub where the information they seek resides.

"How's it feel to have your wings clipped, Queen Bee?" calls a young, female grunt who throws her empty coffee cup at Romelle as she passes. It catches her off guard, smashing into the side of her face, sending residual liquid flying.

“Hey! Back off!” Acxa roars, fangs bared, and it’s the perfect mix of aggression and protectiveness. She shakes Romelle’s cuffs for emphasis. “I captured her!”

They exchange a snarl, tensions rising quickly. Allura can hear her heart beating in her ears, helplessly watching the showdown and silently hoping for it to break.

The grunt falls back, easily, and Allura remembers Lotor explaining to her once that male Galra are usually more impulsive than their female counterparts. While females, however, are typically more cautious.

“Are you alright?” Allura whispers and Romelle purses her lips, nodding.

Some of the crew members high-five or applaud the successful efforts of their comrades. Several others keep to themselves on the sidelines, boiling with jealousy that they aren’t the ones currently parading the paladins down the hall to their leaders.

Deca-phobes ago, no one would have blinked if only two paladins were captured without their lions. It's clear by the severe lack of morale, the Empire was quickly losing most of its strongholds in the universe.

Acxa continues leading until they were in a hallway of cells at the end of the ship. Evaluating status screens on the wall is a tall male Galra Commander, whom Allura doesn’t recognize. He’s thinner than most generals they’ve faced in the past, and his soft features and beady eyes don’t seem fully Galran.  

Luckily, the reprogrammed Rover unit feeds information into their helmets.

Rover tells them his name is Commander Zantix and he is who they need to break into the central hub.

Zantix’s eyes lay heavy on the three of them, saluting with the familiar phrase, “For the honor of the Empire - Vrepit sa!”

Acxa, Veronica and Allura mirror him. “Vrepit sa!”

“Good job capturing the paladins,” he notes, circling them with his arms behind his back.

His nostrils flare, like a predator smelling the blood of their prey. He’s so enraptured by Pidge and Romelle, he doesn’t notice Allura plucking his access key from his uniform.

Two grunts march around from behind them, one to grab Romelle by the bicep and the other to uncuff her from Pidge.

“We’ll take it from here,” Zantix announces unphased and Acxa bristles.

“Sir, we were given orders to keep both paladins together for questioning-”

“Your orders have changed,” he says simply, the grunt pulling Romelle out of the cuffs connected to Pidge’s cuffs. Zantix takes her by the chin, turning her to face him. “Although, I’ve never had a chance to meet the fabled Great Altean Princess.”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Pidge offers as Zantix moves to remove Romelle’s helmet and is instantly shocked, pulling his hand back with a hiss. “Tried to warn you.”

Cradling his hand close, his eyes narrow. “Keep moving with the green paladin, but the princess comes with us.”

They drag Romelle away as Axca shoves Pidge forward and down the opposite hall. Behind them, Rover zooms by unsuspected.

Once they’re out of earshot, Veronica turns to Allura. “Don’t worry, we’ll get her,” she assures her with a small smile. “No one gets left behind.”

Allura lets out a nervous exhale and nods.

They round the corner, stopping in front of double doors. Pidge turns to the small robot floating to her left, “You’re up, Rover.”

The droid beeps, zooming up to the four security cameras scrambling their feeds. As it floats back down to Pidge, a small wire pops out in the shape of a thumbs up.

Pidge turns to Acxa. “Will you do the honors?”

Acxa presses her hand against the sensor lock next to the door, it scans and quickly turns green. The doors unlock with a loud click, revealing the control room. Inside two grunts, startled, spin to face them.

“What are-”

Quickly, Allura pulls out her bayard, releasing her whip and lassoing them both, shocking them with a quintessence surge and knocking them out. The door is going to lock after they enter, so Acxa crouches down and drops a stopper to keep it open just enough for her to keep watch as Veronica uncuffs Pidge.

“Thanks!” Pidge says, cracking her knuckles and rolling her shoulders. “Okay, now the hard part. Allura, I’m gonna need your help.”

“Got it,” she says, joining Pidge at the console. From her uniform pocket she pulls out the access key she plucked off Zantix and types in the codes she still remembers from working with Lotor. Rover lands on the edge of the keyboard, a small cable connecting to one of the outputs and begins uploading the saved files. “Veronica, we need to locate Romelle.”

“Already working on it,” she says, tapping her comms. “Omega team, you still in range?”

“Yup,” Rizavi answers, popping the P and spiking her mic. “Can we blow stuff up now?”

“Not yet, we need you and Ina to lock onto the GPS in Allura’s armor. Romelle is wearing it and they just captured her.”

“Isolating the signal,” Leifsdottir says, before asking, “Why is Romelle wearing Allura’s armor? She’s not a paladin of Voltron.”

“We needed to get through the ship with only three uniforms and Allura still knows the Galra codes to locate Sincline in the systems,” she explains. “We thought worst-case scenario they’d lock up Pidge and Romelle and we'd rescue them together.”

“Considering her royal highness has massive beef with every member of the Galra Royal Family, can’t say I’m surprised,” Rizavi states and a notification blinks across Veronica’s helmet screen.

“Ina connected me to the feed of your Galra helmets and encrypted the signal. We’re sending you Romelle’s location now - she’s not far, just on the opposite side of the ship.”

“You’re going to leave the hub and go left, left, right, left, up, down and you’ll find the room she’s in,” Leifsdottir explains. “Did you get all that?”

“No, but I can figure it out,” Acxa says, tapping her helmet. “I’m going after her.”

“Are you insane?” Veronica hisses, lifting the visor of her helmet and pointing at the door. “Did you forget you’re the only one who speaks Galra and can activate the sensors in this place?”

“Which is exactly why I’m going,” she argues, jumping up to crane her neck around the door. “I’ll meet you at the rendezvous point with Romelle.”

Veronica grabs her wrist, stopping her in her tracks.

Frozen, she looks at the other woman, blinking. Beneath the glow of her helmet’s visor, she can see a light blush tinting Veronica's cheeks.

“Just...be careful, okay?” she says, looking at her fiercely. “And don’t do anything I would do.”

Acxa meets her eyes and nods. Veronica lets go and they watch each other as she walks back through the doorway, and sprints down the hall.

Pidge sends her a map of the cruiser that appears in the view of her visor, but Acxa is able to navigate the convolution easy enough. The location beacon on Romelle’s helmet leads her to the end of a corridor with no door.

She takes a few hesitant steps, running a hand down the cool purple plates on the wall, red wall lights dimming over her glove. Eyes narrowing, she presses hard and the plate gives, locking against the other side with a click.

It’s a secret passage.

The door slides down revealing a dark entrance. Musky wafts of incense linger in the air, like something was smoldering. Acxa braces herself, charging the blaster in her hands as she slowly steps inside.

“Romelle?” she whispers, the tactical light on her blaster giving her a limited scope of sight. “Romelle, can you hear me?”

The quiet grows deeper, and she hears the thumping of her heartbeat in her ears. Her own steady rhythm from within. She removes her mask and drops it on the ground, the room too dark to navigate through the visor.

Through her nose, the burning scent grows stronger the deeper she goes. When she turns a corner, dim motion sensor lights flicker on around her. The room glows a deep crimson and Acxa freezes when the room branches out into a small rotunda.

A shallow pool of thick, golden quintessence dips in the center. Kneeling at its center, is Romelle, helmet off, body un-shifted and long blonde hair flowing over her shoulders. Standing above her is a hooded creature, thin veiny hands lifting her chin.

“Poor little bird,” the voice muses as if contemplating something. Romelle’s head tilts further back. “Your meddling was supposed to bring him to me...not lose him forever.”

Romelle is unresponsive, eyes open but unfocused. She’s under the spell of whoever is under the hood.

“At least now I can take another precious thing away from the princess.” The hooded figure raises another hand, fingers running lightly up Romelle’s throat and to her face. Violet sparks from their fingertips, crackling.

Beneath them, the quintessence glows and the air around Acxa grows thick.

She raises her blaster. “Let her go!”

The hooded figure’s hand remains above Romelle, but the sparks cease. “You…”

The voice of the figure sounds familiar, but Acxa ignores it. The list of shady characters she’s dealt with is too long to keep count.

If it wasn’t for the basin of quintessence between them, she would’ve shot this lunatic in the head the second she came in, but she’s had her own close calls with the substance. The last thing she needs is to turn the room into a bomb.

If she could just get Romelle out of the pool…

“Give me the girl, and I’ll spare your life,” Acxa bargains, blaster up and tactical light pointed at what she can only assume is their head. “You aren’t armed, we can work this out.”

This makes the figure halt, hand clenching into a fist. Even though her back is to her, now that she’s closer, Acxa sees that the long fingers are dark and thin.

The three of them stand together in the bath of gold.

“I can’t blame you for not recognizing me after all this time,” the voice replies. “But my son was important to you as well...it’s why you came to me the first time.”

Acxa freezes. “Son?”

“I didn’t have much use for you then, but I do now.”

The figure turns around, hand outstretched over Acxa’s face and surges her with sparks. She screams, nails digging into her eyes as the whole room burns golden.

 

* * *

 

 

Back at the central hub, Allura and Pidge are still navigating the mainframe.

“We may have to download the entire database to Rover’s hardware,” Allura says, eyeing Pidge across the console. “Is that possible?”

“Anything is possible until it isn’t,” Pidges replies, and with a few taps of her keyboard, a small orange light appears in the center of Rover. “Alrighty, we’re 15% downloaded already.”

“Everything seems like old data - could they have changed their record keeping after Voltron disappeared?”

“Maybe, but it’s unlikely. The logs I got when looking for my dad and Matt were all standard from the last ten or fifteen system cycles,” Pidge explains, typing faster. “It could be that after we defeated Lotor, the Galra spent less time documenting their plans since the Empire was in shambles. It’s hard to update a space wiki when Rome is burning.”

"Rome? Space wiki?" Allura asks eyes never leaving the screen in front of her.

Pidge sighs. “At least Lance gets my references.”

Allura tries not to feel put off by the comparison.

"I’ll keep configuring the data while it downloads," Allura says, tapping into folders and opening documents searching for something- _anything_ \- about the Alteans, Sincline…

She sees a file within a tree of others titled, “L0T04”

Lotor.

Inspecting it, she notices that it hasn't been accessed for nearly four deca-phobes. When she goes to access it, her screen is filled with a security prompt. Allura eyes Pidge’s screen and notices that the prompt isn’t there.

Allura tries to hack into the file the old fashion way - good old guessing.

She types _Vrepit Sa!_

The system rejects her with a red screen.

“Quiznak…” Allura swears under her breath.

A prompt appears on her screen reading: _Three attempts remaining._

Pidge doesn’t seem to notice, as she turns away from the console, to where Veronica is now keeping watch in the doorway.

“So,” she says, tilting her head as a screen illustrating the data downloading into Rover’s memory cloud flickers. “Are you and Acxa a thing now or…?”

Allura types _Kova,_ remembering the stories he would tell her of his once beloved pet cat that Acxa later clarified was an immortal creature that allowed their blind teammate to see.

Another system rejection. The red screen reads: _Two attempts remaining._

From across the room, Veronica shoots Pidge a glare. “Does your mother know you're here, Pidge?"

“N-nevermind!” she squeaks, going back to typing furiously on the keyboard. “Allura, do you have anything on Honerva?”

She’s gotten her third rejection - apparently, _Zarkon_ was not a worthwhile password option either.

“No,” she hisses, staring at the screen. The beads of sweat build up on her forehead, and she knows Rover is almost halfway done with the download but there must be something in this file and if she doesn’t decrypt it now, it won’t download.

The red screen reads: _One attempt remaining._

If she fails this time, it’ll definitely trigger an alarm. It’ll put Acxa and Romelle at risk, but Allura has to know.

Closing her eyes, Allura takes a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth. There was not a single person in the universe who understood Lotor as she had. He had confided in her his hopes for peace, his dreams of exploring it and his passion for learning.

For preserving life.

A thought hits her, rolling off her shoulder like the sweet water of the Altean ocean her mother would take her to during the planet’s hot summers. The memory clinging to her like droplets.

_“You are more capable than you believe, Princess.”_

She opens her eyes and quickly types her final attempt at the password.

_Allura._

The file opens, granting her access to hundreds of documents that she reroutes to Rover’s download, without her teammates seeing. It makes the status read dip from 58% to 57% and Pidge eyes skim the screen. When it perks back up to 59%, the shorter girl shrugs and goes back to her own screen.

“Ladies, I don’t know how much longer we have,” Veronica hisses from the doorway. “Do you think we can wrap this up?”

A ping rings through their helmets and it’s Acxa.

“Acxa? Did you get Romelle?” Pidge asks eyes still on the screen as Rover finishes the download. It reads 62% complete.

“Affirmative, but now I have Galra Sentries on my tail and Romelle is unconscious,” her voice comes through the static feed. “I’m heading your way!’

“But we’re not finished yet!” Allura cries, looking at the screen. “We’re not even at 65%!”

Veronica stands, holding her blaster up. “We don’t have time, more goons are coming!”

Allura turns to Pidge with a pleading look. “This could be our only chance to gather intel! We can’t leave!”

Pidge turns between Allura and over her shoulder at where Veronica is shooting off Sentries. Allura grabs her wrist, and she gasps.

"Pidge," she begs desperately. " _Please._ "

Another shout from Veronica and now the alarms are blaring across the ship.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Pidge cries, "I'm sorry, Allura!"

Her jetpack shoots on, and Pidge yanks Rover from its dock and takes Allura by the wrist and shoots out of the room, picking up Veronica as they escape.

"NO!" Allura screams, thrashing in Pidge's hold as they zip through the hallway. "WE HAVE TO GO BACK!"

"If we go back, we'll get caught!" Pidge argues, running along a wall to avoid a pack of Sentries blocking their way. Veronica shoots them from behind, holding on to Pidge for dear life with her free hand.

"Pidge is right," Veronica says, reloading her blaster to take out another fleet. "We're no use to anyone dead!"

Pidge zooms across another hurdle and Rover scans the corridor for enemies. The coast appears to be clear, so everyone releases their hold on Pidge, her jetpack waning. Before anything else can be said, Allura turns away, clenching her jaw as she marches forward.

"Allura, wait-" Pidge attempts, but doesn't have time to debate as a new pack of Sentries rush out from behind a barricade in front of Allura, blasters charged.

Veronica aims to blast them from over Pidge's shoulder, but when she pulls the trigger it simply clicks in the paladin's ear.

Pidge groans. "Are you freaking kidding me?"

"It's just jammed!" Veronica shouts, smacking the blaster against her hip. "Give me a second!"

Allura closes her eyes, letting the quintessence flow into her like a circuit. She can feel it radiating through the walls of the ship, the powersource of the Sentries and the life around them.

"WE DON'T HAVE A SECOND!" Pidge shouts, her bayard transforming into a taser. She turns to Allura. "ALLURA, MOVE!"

Allura ignores her, the Sentries charging their blasters. She crouches down to place her hands on the tile floor.

"ALLURA!" Pidge screams, lunging forward but is held back when Veronica grabs her by the jetpack.

"She's got this," she whispers.

Allura turns to face the blasters aimed at her.

And releases everything that had been building inside her--the anger, the loss, the heartbreak.

She lets go.

They can only watch as lilac sparks burst from Allura's hands, traveling across the floor and up, electrocuting every droid in front of them in one fell swoop.

The Sentries convulse as the violent current of quintessence pulses through them, Allura’s alchemy strong enough to burn their hardware to liquefied wires and circuits.

She stands to her full height, sparks still radiating from her suit like a hot pan soaked in water. Pidge and Veronica exchange a look, sirens still blaring around them.

"Uh...okay I guess that worked," Veronica says, grabbing a new blaster from one of the barbecued droids.

Next to her, Pidge taps her helmet to open her comms. “Omega team, you still kicking?”

“Galra found us,” Leifsdottir answers, the echoing of blasts firing in the background.

“What?!” Veronica screeches, pulling Pidge closer in order to scream into her comm.

“You heard the lady, Galra found us!” Rizavi barks, the shots sounding louder from her mic.

“How? You were supposed to be in stealth mode!”

“Yes, we were supposed to be in stealth mode,” Leifsdottir says, voice surprisingly even-keeled for a firefight. “Nadia, would you like to explain to Commander McClain how we were found?”

“That asteroid totally looked like a drone, okay?”

“Oh my god,” Veronica groans, pushing her glasses up as she rubs the bridge of her nose. “This is why I stay out of the field.”

“Look, we don’t have time to bicker over who-shot-first, okay?” Rizavi declares, ignoring Leifsdottir’s _“It was you.”_ clarification. “It’s too hot here for your escape, we need a new rendezvous point. Did you find Romelle?”

“Acxa did, but we haven’t met up with them yet,” Pidge explains, pulling away from Veronica’s hold and flipping her arm armor to reveal a GPS map. “The tracker on Allura’s suit went out, so I can’t even get a read on them anymore.”

“Are we full Voltron, yet?” Rizavi asks, mic fading in and out between shots. “This feels full Voltron.”

Right when Pidge is about to answer, the wall in front of them blasts outward in a blow of an explosion. The three women shield their faces with their arms as smoke and rubble tumble out. From the other side of the wall, Acxa climbs over the pile of steel and smoldering glass, Romelle hoisted on her back, unconscious.

“Oh...um, hello,” she greets, nodding to the Altean on her back. “I found Romelle.”

“Annddd now we’re full Voltron,” Pidge notes.

“Acxa! You’re okay!” Veronica exclaims, rushing to the other woman. When she gets close, she notices the yellow burn mark near Axca’s eyes and gasps. “What happened to-”

When she reaches up to touch the burns, Acxa flinches and turns away. “Nothing. I’m fine.”

Veronica’s face falls as the Galra woman takes two long strides to Allura who leans over to cup a hand to Romelle’s face, thumb resting against the blue marks on her cheeks.

“We need to get her back to the ATLAS,” she says.

“Ina and Nadia are currently engaged with Galra fighters,” Pidge explains. “There's gotta be another exit.”

“If we keep going this way, we can hit the east wing and blast out of the cargo hangar,” Acxa says, motioning down the hall with her head. “I took out most of the guards, so we shouldn’t have a problem.”

“But they’re sending more goons,” Veronica points out on Pidge’s map. “We’re going to get cornered if we don't move fast enough and we have to keep Romelle out of danger.”

Allura looks around the rubble until her eyes land on a large utility cart on the other side of the hall from where Acxa blasted through the wall. “Could something like this work? I think it has an electric motor.”

Pidge’s eyes light up as she clammers over the rumble to the cart, Rover floating behind her. “Oh my gosh, this is just like the cart we found at Lotor’s base that Lance, Hunk and I - “ she stops when she feels Allura’s eyes on her and grins, cheekily. “Uh...totally ignored and definitely didn’t race around the ship against a reprogrammed Sentry!”

“Can we use this to get to the cargo exit?” Allura sighs as Pidge plugs Rover into the panel.

“Yes, we can! Hop in!”

Veronica helps Acxa load Romelle into the basket of the cart. Once everyone is settled, Rover beeps, the light turning green as the cart powers up.

“Is this going to be fast enough?” Veronica asks, skeptically. “It’s just a box cart.”

“Oh Veronica,” Pidge smirks, over her shoulder. “Never underestimate the power of a hacked piece of technology.”

“You may want to hang on,” Allura advises and Veronica scoffs.

“I’m sure it’ll be fi-HOLY QUIZNACK!”

The cart bolts forward, rocketing up spindly halls at a speed that is absolutely not safe for any cargo, especially humans. This doesn’t seem to phase Pidge, however, as she laughs maniacally as they zoom down the corridors, leaning their body weight to make the sharp turns.

“Everyone lean left!” Pidge orders and they follow and feel two wheel lift off the ground at the turn. “Okay, back to center!” They follow, feeling all four wheels hit the ground again.

The Sentries appear again and Veronica and Acxa aim their blasters out the back as Allura and Pidge duck in the front, hitting each like a target in a carnival game before they pass.

“Nice teamwork.” Acxa praises, giving Veronica a mischievous look as she nails another robot with a headshot. Veronica preens at the compliment.

“Hey, lovebirds! Eyes on the robots trying to kill us, yeah?” Pidge calls, pointing at the door quickly coming up. “And maybe this door while you’re at it?”

Veronica huffs, puffing her bangs out of her eyes. Bringing the blaster’s scope to her eye, she aims it over the sightline and takes the shot. It lands directly on the lock, opening it instantly.

Allura and Pidge turn and stare at the other woman, dumbfounded. Veronica shrugs.

“Who’d you think taught Lance?”

They zip into the cargo hangar, and Veronica shoots the lock again, barricading the door behind them. Pidge cuts the engine and releases Rover from the control panel as Allura leaps out of the basket. Behind her, Acxa hoists Romelle up in a fireman's carry, Veronica at her side.

“We don’t have much time before they stop sending Sentries and start sending troops,” Allura announces, turning a side container filled with extra suits, jetpacks and masks. “Everyone grab a mask so we can jetpack out to where Nadia and Ina are waiting.”

Pidge taps her helmet again. “Omega team are you-”

“No!” Rizavi yells, sirens and shots blaring through the speakers. “Call back later!”

The comms close with a click, a loud dial tone echoing through Pidge’s helmet.

“That was rude,” Acxa notes, and Veronica turns back to Pidge.

"Can't you two summon your magical cat robots with the power of friendship or whatever?"

"I'm not sure," Pidge admits, looking at Allura. "We've never done it without the whole team before."

Veronica looks down at her boots and begins clicking her heels together, eyes closed. "There's no place like a giant mech robot, there's no place like a giant mech robot, there's no place like a giant mech robot!"

Acxa stares at her like she's grown another head and Veronica opens one eye to glare at her. "If we survive this, I am definitely forcing you to watch at least three Earth movies."

The steel of the door indents with gunshots, the noise reverberating in their ears and ringing out around the hangar. Allura bites her bottom lip, staring at the window of the hangar showing the firefight outside.

She feels a small hand slip into her own and looks down to see Pidge looking up at her. A small smile pulls at her lips.

Wordlessly, Allura understands and closes her eyes. She takes a deep breath in and exhales out, centering herself in the middle of the hangar, feeling the energy of Pidge next to her. It’s a tether, but also a pull as they use their energy to call the lions.

The door bursts open in a mess of mangled metal, and Commander Zantix climbs over, teeth bared and ready for a fight. Veronica stands in front of Acxa, blaster up and ready to fire.

Zantix’s hand raises for the Sentries to fire, and Allura opens her eyes quick enough to yell, “MASKS ON!”

They follow and soon the sound of crashing glass rips through the hangar, and they’re being sucked outwards. Screaming, Acxa holds onto Romelle and takes hold of Veronica’s wrist while Pidge grabs hold of her ankle, and Allura pulls Pidge by the scruff of her suit and uses her jetpack to blast forward into the waiting mouth of the Red Lion.

Allura leans back, patting the metal hull affectionately. “Thank you, Red.”

Red’s mouth shuts and bursts back from the cruiser in a backflip, soaring through the firefight and away from danger.

“I think my chant worked!” Veronica grins at Pidge with a smug look and the paladin groans.

“That’s not even close to how this works!”

Allura climbs up to the pilot seat, hands on the levers as she sends coordinates to the MFEs as she dodges the Galra fighter jets Zantix sics after them. Spotting the lion, Rizavi and Leifsdottir pull out, zooming away with Red until they reach the wormhole.

“Hold on!” Allura calls, thrusting forward and soon the three of them are on the other side, floating in a new quadrant, far away. Over the comms, Rizavi cheers in excitement and Adam’s face appears when the ATLAS connects.

“Hey, team! You made it in one piece,” he greets, taping on his console and looking at a monitor off screen. “Let me zero in on your coordinates and we can pick you up.”

“Thanks, Adam,” Pidge says, leaning over Allura’s seat. “Where’s Shiro?”

Adam hesitates before answering. “There was another distress beacon while you were out…he went to check it out with Lance and Hunk.”

“Is everything okay?”

A heavy pause.

“I think it’ll be best if they explain it,” he resigns, swiping the screen. “Just locked in on you - we’ll be there in a few ticks.”

The feed cuts short and Pidge turns to exchange a worried glance with Allura, but the other woman is looking away from her.

“Listen...I’m sorry I had to cut your intel gathering short back there,” she says, quietly. “But we couldn’t put the team in danger. You know that right?”

Allura continues pressing buttons on the console that Pidge knows do nothing. When she doesn’t reply, she sighs.

“When I was looking for my family, it was like every path led to a dead end. There is no one who understands how frustrating it is to look for answers and getting nowhere like I do.”

“Exactly,” Allura says, voice brisk. “Which is exactly why I thought you would understand this, but apparently you don’t.”

Pidge is taken aback. “Allura, that’s not true-”

“I think you’ll have a better time waiting with Acxa and Veronica,” Allura says with finality. Pidge stands for a few more breaths, before turning to sit next to Veronica outside the cockpit.

Once the door closes behind her, Allura drops her face into her hands.


	7. Girls / Girls / Boys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What if his future Mrs. Blue Lion was really a Mr. Blue Lion? Is Lance ready for something like that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all like almost 10K words on Lance having a bisexual meltdown and crushing over Keith because that's what this chapter is - have fun!
> 
>  
> 
> Chapter title is from Panic! At the Disco's "Girls / Girls / Boys"

When the lock to the hangar opens, Lance is standing on the bridge with Shiro and Hunk at his side watching through a monitor. They’re still dressed in their paladin uniforms - there hasn’t been time to change in all the commotion. Seeing Shiro back in his black paladin uniform makes something percolate in Lance’s chest. He wonders if this is how Keith felt before he ran off to be an angsty space ninja.

Through the comms, they hear Veronica shout the code that they have injured teammates onboard, and before anyone can ask who, the Red Lion zips in, followed by the Green Lion. 

The two MFE jets are not far behind, landing in a different hangar. From the monitors, they can see Rizavi and Leifsdottir both appear to be okay after James and Kinkade bum-rush them on the tarmac. 

“Green’s mouth isn’t opening,” Hunk says, looking more nervous than usual when the three of them descend the stairs to the hangar where Allura and Pidge should be. “That means Pidge isn’t inside.”

“Keep your head, big guy,” Lance assures him, turning the corner and waiting for the airlock to open and lead them to where the lions rest. “They’re both in Red.”

Shiro’s brow arches at the confidence, but it’s Hunk who asks, “How do you know that?”

It gives Lance pause because he isn't really sure other than he can still feel Red lingering in the back of his mind, the same with Blue sometimes. He’s been piloting Black, but the connections he’s made with his previous lions are always there. 

That includes their paladins.

By the time they reach the hangar, Hunk has already forgotten the question. Red’s head descends, and when it opens its mouth Allura, Pidge and Acxa exit. On Acxa’s back is Romelle, unconscious.  Shiro calls for a medic, and before Lance knows it, three crew members have appeared from seemingly nowhere to take Romelle and Acxa to the med bay with Veronica on their heels.

Shiro, Allura, Hunk, Pidge, and Lance stand alone in front of the lions. Even though they see more of each other than anyone else, it still feels like it’s been a long time since it was only them together. Pidge breaks the silence.

"We managed to get some intel off the Galra base, but we had to cut Rover's download about halfway through," she explains, looking between them. From the corner of his eye, Lance notices Allura tense. Her arms are crossed tightly over the Galran suit she's still wearing. "Adam said you guys found something during your mission?"

Shiro and Hunk both look at Lance. He sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, we did…"

Pidge is growing impatient. "And?!"

"It was another Altean pilot," he says finally, eyes landing on Allura who instantly turns to him. "He's different than the others, though."

"How?" Allura demands, marching up to Lance as if closing the distance between them would somehow provide the information faster. She's so close that he can smell the shampoo she uses and the sweat still clinging to her skin. It makes him panic; his nerves are bubbling in his gut. "What is his name? Is he from the colonies? Is it Honerva?"

"Woah!" Hunk says, breaking between Lance and Allura to gently push them apart. "Leave room for the holy spirit, Allura. No need to get all up in Lance's grill."

"Hunk's right," Shiro says, putting a supportive hand on her shoulder. "We know you're worried about the colonists, and we are too."

Allura's eyes narrow and under her breath, Lance swears he hears her mumble, _"Doesn't seem like it."_

He exchanges a worried glance with Shiro and the taller man sighs.

"I think it may be best if you see for yourself. Lance can accompany you to have a look while Pidge, Hunk and I give our briefings to the crew." He turns to Lance. "Does that work?"

Lance nods and looks to Allura. "They're keeping him in one of the empty offices for questioning. Follow me."

When Lance passes through the automatic door with Allura in silence, the desire to say something - _anything_ \- nearly consumes him. The quiet is heavy and uncomfortable. Allura is rooted in her thoughts, and under the ship’s lighting, it's evident in the lines on her face that she hasn't been sleeping well. 

He stops walking, and she halts, ripped from her thoughts by the abruptness. "Are we there already?"

"It's around the bend, but I wanted to give you a second," he admits, looking at her softly. "You just landed from a pretty intense mission, do you want to take a shower or maybe-"

"No."

Her tone is enough to make him flinch, the word sharp and abrasive. He swallows hard and nods, leading her around the bend, and opening the door for her to enter. 

They see Coran waiting for them. He's flipping through notes on a holo-tablet, most likely the Altean's vitals and as much information as he was willing to give. When he spots them enter, his face falls.

"You came right from your missions?" he asks, looking between them, eyes resting on their armor. Allura ignores the question.

"Who is he?"

"His name is Tavo," Coran explains, handing her the tablet. "Lance and the crew found him floating in one of those mechs. He was dead in the water."

"We thought it could be a trap, so I pulled in James and Kinkade as an emergency backup," Lance adds with a shrug. "Turns out we didn't need it - he gave himself up the second he saw us."

Allura reviews the tablet quickly before looking up through the one-way glass. The Altean is an older man with dark skin and dark box-braids pulled back into a ponytail. He scratches his beard, and Lance catches a glimpse of the handcuffs around his wrists. “I wish to speak to him.”

Lance exchanges a nervous look with Coran. “Are you sure?”

“Would I have asked if I wasn’t?” she asks, but Lance knows that the question is rhetorical. Coran notes the tension and tries a different approach.

“Princess, I understand that you’re eager to speak with him, but you just returned from your mission,” he tries to reason, eyeing her shoulder. “Why don’t you get yourself fixed up and then come back? It’s not like he’s going anywhere.”

“Like how the other colonists weren’t going anywhere until Honerva tried to set them off like a bomb?” she spits, and Lance is taken aback by the brazenness of the ordeal. He’s never seen Allura act like this, especially towards Coran. She turns away from the two of them, placing a hand on the knob for the door. “I’m going in to speak with him _now_.”

She pushes through, and Lance watches, worriedly, as she takes a seat across from Tavo. He's not as wary or skittish as the other Alteans they’ve captured, but there’s still something unreadable about his expression that makes Lance nervous. They begin to speak and judging by their body language, it’s very tense.

“Is there a mic or something in here?” he asks Coran, looking around. “We can’t hear anything from this side.”

“No, this room wasn’t designed to be an interrogation chamber.”

“Then why is there a one-way glass?”

“You know, it’s funny,” Coran begins, rolling the end of his mustache with his finger. “When Sam took my grandfather’s designs, I wasn’t sure if he would be so literal and include a Wazinko room!”

Lance’s face fell. “Do I want to know what a Wazinko is?”

“I mean, I’m sure Earthlings must have something similar. It’s a room for when couples gather, put their keys in a bowl and swap-”

“Nope! Nuh uh!” Lance interrupts, hand up. “That’s all I need to know about Altean swingers, thank you.”

Coran is about to retort when movement from the other side of the glass catches their attention. Tavos falls forward, eyes rolling up in his head. Allura leaps across the table to catch him, as he begins to foam at the mouth.

"ALLURA!" Lance yells, yanking on the door and met with resistance. He tugs again, turning to Coran. "Why is the door locked?!"

"Wazinko rooms are built so one couple can watch while the other-"

"I don't know why I keep asking!" Lance groans, transforming his bayard into a blaster and shooting the lock off the door. "Coran, get backup!"

He storms into the room as Allura is leaning over Tavo, hands above his chest. Her eyes are closed as the pink quintessence of her aura surrounds them. Lance is stunned, unable to do anything other than watch as she pulls a rift entity from within Tavo, just like she was able to for Ephraim and Reks.

Seeing the rift entity pulls at something in his chest, and Lance clenches his jaw. Several crewmembers in hazmat suits enter behind him, Coran on their heels. The aura surrounding Allura wanes, giving them enough time to take the entity from her hands and place it into a container. The pulling sensation stops, and Lance kneels next to Allura, his bayard back at his hip. At their feet, Tavo lays unconscious. 

"Let's go, Allura," Lance says, voice soft as he tries to gather her in his arms to pull her to her feet. They need to clear the area for the crew to get Tavo to the med bay, but Allura thrashes in his hold. "Allura! Stop!"

"No!" 

She struggles harder, and Lance is lucky that she's drained because otherwise he isn't sure he would still have arms. He turns to Coran, and together they can subdue her, dragging her from the room.

"Let me go! You don't understand!" Allura cries, tears welling in her eyes. "He understood everything...he was willing to help! Please let me go to him!"

"Princess, he nearly died - and so could've you!" Coran presses once they're in the hallway. "You must go to the Medical Bay immediately!"

Allura's face twists into an expression of betrayal. "Coran...I thought you would understand...after everything we have lost."

"I promised your father I would protect you, Allura," Coran says, laying his hands on Allura's shoulders. "Losing you would mean losing everything."

Her bottom lip quivers and she turns away, stomping down the hall. Lance motions to go after her and Coran grabs his elbow.

"Let her go, Lance," he advises and Lance yanks his arm away.

"If we keep letting her go we're gonna lose her!"

Lance chases after Allura calling her name. She slows down enough for him to take her hand, and she turns away. 

“Please leave me alone,” she begs, closing her eyes. “You don’t know what it’s like to find out after 10,000 years your people are alive, but they reject you to serve at the pleasure of the monsters who’ve been keeping the universe hostage for centuries.”

“You’re right, I don’t,” he admits, squeezing her hand. “But I know what it’s like to see someone you care about get hurt, and I hate seeing that look on your face.”

“If that’s one of your lines-”

“It’s not, Allura. I’m serious.”

Lance swallows nervously as Allura opens her eyes, but she didn't meet his eyes as she says, “If you were serious, you’d let me go. You can’t fix this, Lance.”

“Let me try - “ he says before he realizes the implication of the words flowing out of his mouth. He can’t be the only one she relies on. “Let any of us - Shiro, Pidge, Coran, Hunk, hell even _Keith_. We’re here for you; we’re a team.” 

He pulls her hand up to rest against the chest plate of his armor. The blue of V on his chest glowing against her palm.

“We’re your family.”

Allura sucks in a harsh breath then lets it out through her nose, shaking her head slowly. “My family died 10,000 years ago when Zarkon murdered my father and destroyed my planet.” 

She pulls away, leaving him without a backward glance. Lance stares after her until she disappears from view, the hallway door shutting behind her a little bit too hard to be normal.

* * *

 

There’s a shifting of the reality around him again, and Lance braces his body for another impact. He’s lightheaded and dizzy, before being thrust forward and landing on the cold tiles of a ship. Lance stands in an empty hallway of the ATLAS, staring at a closed door. Next to the doorframe, he sees a sign in the upper left-hand corner.

 

**Allura, Paladin of Voltron**

 

He reaches for it, but suddenly the knob is far away, and he can’t reach it. His fingers graze the cool metal of the handle.

Wait, weren’t the doors on the ATLAS motion sensor?

Since when does Allura’s door have a handle?

Behind him, he feels a hand on his back and hears a familiar voice.

"Is Allura okay?" 

It’s Keith. Lance turns around to face him, his brows knitted in the middle with worry. He has such pretty eyebrows, and Lance wants to tell him that, but Keith asks him another question. "Why are you crying?"

Lance blinks, suddenly feeling the wetness drop from his eyelashes. Keith raises a gloved hand to his face, cupping his cheek in his palm and wiping away his tears with a calloused thumb.

"I think part of me is mourning," he replies, swallowing hard. "But I can't remember which part."

"Mourning, what?"

"I can't remember," Lance closes his eyes, feeling the tears begin to fall. "My heart...it feels like it's breaking but healing at the same time.” He turns back to the door. “I think Allura feels it too…"

"Could it be Honerva?” Keith asks, earnestly. “And how she's breaking realities?"

Lance can't help but let out a small laugh, instantly overwhelmed with the affection he has for Keith, who never doubts him, even when he must sound like an absolute madman. Never has anyone trusted Lance so entirely and faithfully in his life. He could tell Keith he thought the sky was falling and Keith would brainstorm ways to keep it from crumbling down.

There’s a faint knocking sound in the distance, but Lance ignores it.

"I love you," Keith breathes, and it's so honest and so confident Lance is sure it's breaking whatever reality he's in right now. Whichever one has blessed him with the version of Keith that's by his side, cupping his face like he's the most precious creature in the galaxy. 

His dark, indigo eyes soften, his brows relax as his mouth twitches upward in a crooked smile. His hand falls from Lance’s face and takes hold of both of his hands, bringing his knuckles to his lips to repeat in a more far away sounding voice, "I love you."

Lance smiles tearfully as Keith lowers his hands and leans in, pressing a gentle peck on his forehead, then his nose, and finally against his lips. 

He can’t feel it, but he wants to.

 

_...Lance?_

 

"Honerva must really be messing with reality if we get to have moments like this without anyone coming by to bother us," Keith whispers. There’s a knocking sound again, and Lance hears a voice floating nearer.

 

_...Lance? Are you in there?_

 

"Spoke too soon." Keith pulls away, lifting Lance’s hand back to his lips, leaving a final kiss, before dropping it. He turns, and Lance reaches out for him but-

 

**“LANCE!”**

 

He opens his eyes and sits up with a start, hearing the heavy knocking on his door turn more frantic. Looking down, he sees that he’s still in his unitard, the plates of his armor haphazardly littered around his bedroom.

The conversation with Allura must’ve drained him so thoroughly that he passed out without even realizing it. 

Leaping from his bed, Lance scurries to his door with jittery limbs, his socks skidding against the floor as he unlocks his room with the keypad. When the door swishes open, he looks down to see N7.

He always thinks N7 should be taller since they’re, like, a robot and stuff.

“H-hey!” he greets, running his fingers through his hair in a lame attempt to adjust his bed head into something presentable. “What brings you here, N7?”

The android scans his face (maybe literally), their visor glowing softly in the hallway. “What took you so long to answer?”

“I was busy.”

“You’ve been in there for three vargas.” 

“I was...napping.”

Their visor’s screen narrows. “Why did you just hesitate?”

“I...don’t...know?” Lance offers, turning to smile widely, hoping it’ll shake them off his scent. A few silent ticks pass between them. It’s awkward, but Lance keeps smiling, hoping the human emotion is enough to deceive them.

It is.

“Shiro wishes to see you in his office,” N7 relents, shaking their head. They take a step away from the doorframe, arms folded across their chest. “In the future, so you’re aware, Lance, I’m very familiar with the various stress relief methods humans partake in, including masturba-”

“Wow! Cool! Thanks for the message!” Lance says, hand landing on the keypad to quickly shut his door. “Bye, N7!”

It shuts loudly in their face and Lance groans, pressing his forehead against the door.

“Just make sure you shower!” N7 calls through the door and Lance’s eye twitches.

“BYE, N7!”

When he hears the shuffling of boots move away from his door, Lance groans and pulls himself back. Taking a deep breath to calm his frazzled nervous system, he places a hand on his chest and feels the heavy thumping of his heart.

What would cause a dream like that?

Where Keith, who has the emotional range of a rock which has never spoken to another rock, said the ultimate L-word to him?

He makes his way to the bathroom like a zombie, peeling off his unitard from his still sweaty skin, nose wrinkling when it sticks to him. He kicks it towards the hamper, too distracted to be bothered with it. 

Unless that dream was just another glimpse at a past reality? Slav was always talking about multiple timelines, and maybe all his hopping around had caused a glitch in the matrix of time. Lotor made it sound like reality was a delicate balance, so it could be on the fritz.

Because there’s no way, Keith Kogane would ever confess something like that - especially to Lance of all people.

Turning on the shower, Lance allows the bathroom to steam up and thinks back to their dinner on Earth. Keith had dressed up, but only because Lance told him too. It wasn’t anything to overthink. And their park conversation was more of a fight than anything else - even though Keith had admit that he left the team for Lance’s sake. 

There was something else Keith was going to say before Lotor pulled him into the rift.

Lance reaches into the shower, instantly burning himself on the water with a hiss.

“Ugh, dumb finicky shower head!” 

He spends the next ten minutes preoccupying himself with trying to find the perfect balance between the hot and cold faucets, which is a much better thing to hyper-fixate over than some stupid dream about stupid Keith.

 

* * *

 

The gunmetal door slides open with a familiar swoosh, revealing Shiro's office space. As Captain of the IGF-ATLAS, Lance would think that Shiro's quarters would be more spacious, but he makes the small space work.

The office is painted gray and is lucky to have one of the few floor-to-ceiling windows that aren't on the bridge or the observatory deck. The view of space _while_ in space still shakes Lance. Even though it nearly drove him mad before when they were floating helplessly through it, seeing the view from Shiro's window is just as awe-inspiring as when he was a kid studying constellations to get into the Garrison. 

On the desk sits a holo-caster, a tablet with the screen still open, and a stack of papers sitting under a paperweight shaped like a pouting turtle. When they had first boarded the ship, Pidge had noticed the paperweight during one of their briefings and asked about it. 

"It's from my old office from before I set off for Kerberos," Shiro had explained, picking it up between his robotic fingers. "It's silly now, but years ago I was at this flea market with Adam, and he found it at someone's booth. It was so small and angry looking he jokingly called it Little Keith."

Lance had perked up at the embarrassing story, turning to Keith with eyes that were undoubtedly sparking with anticipation to tease him. The other boy had shot him a look that could kill a lesser man. 

"Don't even try it."

"Try what, Little Keith?"

"Shiro!" Keith had groaned, and Pidge couldn't hold back the snort as she joined in on the teasing. After Allura came in late, Hunk had explained the joke to her. She hadn’t found it as amusing.

In a corner, the vent that pumped oxygen throughout the ship hums, and there's an empty swivel chair in the middle of the office. A bookshelf, bursting with books is in the other corner, with few pens lying on the documents, but some had fallen onto the floor from the top of the bookshelf. Shiro's back is turned to Lance as he shuffles through the second bookshelf, causing more pens and papers to fall.

"Uh, Shiro?" Lance calls, voice carrying across the room from where he is standing in the doorway. "You wanted to see me?"

Startled, Shiro jumps around as every muscle of his body freezes, his mind trying to catch up to who the intruder is before a grin creeps onto his face, it soon stretches from one side to the other showing a toothy grin.

"Lance!" he greets, waving him inside to take a seat in the chair in front of his desk. "Sorry, I didn't hear you come in. I have a few things I want to chat with you about."

"Sure," Lance drops into the chair and looks around the room, noticing again how disorderly everything is like Shiro is searching for something. "Are you having a scavenger hunt in here?"

It takes a moment for the other man to realize what he means before he's sighing, leaning back in his seat. And...pouting? Has he ever seen Shiro pout before?

"I can't seem to find my lunch anywhere," he admits, leaning his elbow on the desk, the tips of his fingers rapping against the hardwood. "I thought I had it here."

"If it's some food you need, I'm sure Hunk can whip something up for you in the mess hall."

"Yeah, but it was from the stash of noodle cups I had. I think it was the last one," he sighs again, shaking his head before leaning back in his seat. "Anyway, that's not why I brought you here. I have a few updates for you about Voltron."

"Okay, hit me."

"I'm retiring."

Lance's eyes go wide at the announcement and Shiro raises his hand to stop him from saying anything. "Keith has been cleared to rejoin active duty."

The fluttering in Lance's chest makes it hard to speak, so he nods instead. Having Keith back makes him feel tingly and excited. 

"But you just got to pilot a lion again,” Lance manages. “You’re sure about this?”

Shiro nods. "I'm glad I got to fly as a paladin again before stepping down, but it's my decision this time."

"Really?" Lance asks because he needs to hear it. He needs to know Shiro is okay and happy because he deserves to be. He's earned it more than any of them. "You're okay?"

"Yes, Lance," Shiro says and leans back, eyes twinkling with mirth. "ATLAS is my place now, and I enjoy it. You're an excellent paladin, and it's been an honor flying with you at the head of Voltron.

Lance can't help but grin. "Thank you, Shiro. It's been amazing having you back."

Shiro gives him a smile turning back to his desk to pick up a small envelope. "Here's a card for Keith. I was hoping you could get some folks around the ship to sign it and give it to him?"

"Sure!" Lance takes the Welcome Back card and reads over the cover. It has some weird aliens holding up what looks to be a roasted pig with a language he doesn't understand sprawled across the front. "Shiro, where did you find this?"

He shrugs. "Space mall."

Figures.

Lance places the card in the jacket pocket of his blue uniform, nestled against his chest, before standing up. "Anything else for me, Captain?"

"No, that's it," Shiro dismisses him as he goes back to hunting for his noodles. "Just keep me posted on when you and Keith figure out who flies what."

Lance feels a pit in his stomach drop as he leaves.

Although the idea of Keith returning to the team made his heart race with excitement, the idea of having to negotiate the lions again was another headache.

His boots tap against the floor of the ATLAS as he passes various crew members, dismissing their salutes with nods as he makes his way to the bridge. 

There is no one more excited for Keith to get released from the medical bay than Lance, but what did that mean for Voltron? 

Now that he was back, he would want his lion again, and it wasn't like Lance could kick Allura out of Red - asking her to step aside from her father's lion felt exceptionally cruel considering their situation with the Altean pilots. And it wasn't like Blue has ever shown interest in letting Keith pilot her - what if she didn't accept him as her pilot as she did with Shiro? What if the Black Lion was the only option for him?

Lance swallows hard at the possibility.

Maybe he would have to go back to Blue and let Allura and Keith lead Voltron?

If it is what is best for the team, then Lance could do it. There is no way he is going to let Keith feel like he doesn't have a place on the team or give him an excuse to leave to spare Lance's feelings - no, this time Lance is going to decide to step down if it comes down to it. 

He isn't going to lose Keith again.

Lance enters the bridge through dual sliding doors, and the moment he tells the ATLAS crew to sign the card for Keith, Veronica jumps at the opportunity to tease him about it.

It seems even being fresh off a mission isn’t enough to stop her.

"Aww, look at Lancey trying to hide how much he missed his crush by having us all sign a card for him!" she taunts after signing her name in curly script next to a short note before handing it to Sam Holt. 

Lance snorts, indignant. Pushing the fleeting memories of his dream aside. "Haha, very funny, V," he crosses his arms and waits for Sam to sign. "I'm just doing this because Shiro asked me to."

"You better be careful where you're throwing those stones, McClain," Adam says, leaning back in his chair, feet on the console with a cup of noodles in his hand. Lance recognizes Adam’s food as the lunch Shiro had torn his office apart searching for but decides to keep quiet. These days it seems like Adam and Shiro have a quasi-truce and the last thing he needs is to throw it out the window over some instant ramen. "Isn't there a certain ex-Galra General you've been spending a lot of time with?"

"N-no, I'm not!" Veronica turns a deep shade of red. "Anyway, she's been attached to Romelle's side since we got back."

Lance grins, snatching the card back from Sam and waving it at her. "Ha! Roasted, sis!" 

"Well, at least I'm not in denial that I'm gay!" she slings back viciously, before storming out. The bridge grows uncomfortably quiet, the only noise being that of Adam slurping his noodles. 

The thought of dream Keith kissing him flashes through his mind. The way his heart fluttered at the confession of love from Keith and how easy it was for him to say...

Lance holds the card tighter, shaking his head. "Gay? Y-yeah, right."

"I mean, Keith is a boy," Adam points out, twirling the noodles around the fork. "And you have a crush on Keith."

"I don't have a crush on-"

"You do, but that's beside the point." Lance watches as Adam shoves the fork full of noodles into his mouth. Between bites, he shrugs. "Having a crush on a boy is gay."

"I'm not gay! I like girls!"

"Bisexual then." Adam swallows and inspects the nutrition label on his cup of noodles as he speaks, which somehow makes Lance even more annoyed. When he doesn't respond, Adam raises an eyebrow at him over the styrofoam cup. "Why not? More guys should be bi!"

"We're also in space," Sam adds, adjusting his glasses. "Gender and sexuality are nebulous."

Adam points his fork at him. "You're a real ally, Sam."

"Whatever," Lance grumbles, grabbing the card and marching out into the hallway that leads to the lab where he knows Hunk and Pidge are bunkered together.

Okay sure, he has feelings about Keith that aren't total annoyance - he is their leader and his friend. He cares a lot about what Keith thinks and wants to make sure he is safe, happy, and not running into situations only to get his ass handed to him all the time. But that doesn't mean he has, like, the same romantic feelings for Keith as he did for Allura. 

And look, he gets that in the other reality he was in before, he and Allura were maybe, probably an item, and that isn't the case now. Lance knows what crush is and what he feels for Keith is a kind of crush, sure.

But not _like that_.

The fluttering feeling he gets is like an admiration crush. He doesn't want him. He wants to be _like him_. 

Y'know, flying through asteroid fields and being a space ninja. Keith is cool and objectively good looking. 

It's a crush, fine, but it's a friendship crush - a _frush_ _!_ It's not a big deal. 

He loves Keith but as a friend.

A friend Lance goes to for advice and who makes his day better by just being around. 

A friend who grounds him when he feels his mind racing and getting all fuzzy. 

A friend who, when given a choice, Lance chose to save out of the entire team because of how important he is to him.

Lance swallows hard, the memories from his dream floating back into the forefront of his mind.

Keith is a friend he missed so much after he left, that Lance isolated himself to train alone for months.

Keith is a friend that when they were at their breaking point floating in space, Lance ripped into him, letting him know just how much it hurt him when he ran away. 

Keith is a friend that when Lance saw him hanging over a volcano in a stranglehold, the fear of losing him was overwhelming because to Lance it would be like losing the stars themselves.

The doors to Pidge and Hunk's lab swing open, and Lance’s grip on the envelope is creasing the paper. 

"Uh, Lance?"

He blinks and instantly Hunk is standing in front of him, looking concerned. Lance attempts to push away his thoughts about Keith to slap on a smile. 

"H-hey, big guy! I got a card for you guys to sign for Keith. N-not in a romantic way, duh. Like, a friendship card. Because we're all his friends, and this card is for that friendship. Which we all have with Keith," Lance says in one long breath, and when Hunk continues to stare at him, he adds. "Platonically."

Hunk raises an eyebrow, giving Lance a once over. "Okay...but that doesn't explain why you've been standing in the doorway for a solid minute while the doors try to close on you."

"The doors?" Lance asks, and suddenly he feels a big smash of metal as it hits his shoulders before triggering the sensors to send the doors bouncing back into the pockets within the wall. "OW!" 

"Yeah, dude!" Hunk says, taking him by the arm and tugging him forward, so he's safely inside the lab. "How the heck did you not notice that?"

"I'm almost mad you told him," carries Pidge's voice and Lance looks to the other desk in the lab to see her sitting cross-legged on a chair as Colleen Holt dabs an antiseptic wipe against her face. "Ow! Mom! That hurts!"

"That's what you get for sneaking out on that mission," Colleen huffs, leaning back to her medical kit to pull out a bandaid. "Honestly, Katie, I don't know what we're going to do with you! What part of grounding don't you understand?"

"Probably the ground part since we're in space," she grumbles, and Colleen presses hard against her cheek, sticking a bandaid over the scrape. "Owwww!"

"Don't get smart with me," she frowns and gently takes Pidge by the chin to inspect her work. When she's satisfied, she kisses her noisily on the forehead. "Okay, you're good to go."

Pidge winces but doesn't squirm. "Thanks, Mom."

Colleen nods and jumps to her feet, making her way to Lance in a few long strides. "Let me see you now."

Even though Lance had a good head of height over her, the determination in the woman's eyes bore a deep fear into his soul.

"Uh, Mrs. Holt! I'm fine, really!" Lance laughs nervously, putting his hands up between them. "I was just spacing out when the doors hit me-OH QUIZNACK!"

Lance shrieks as the woman begins to unbutton his uniform jacket to better access the damage on his arm. He squeals and squirms like a pig going to slaughter, but Colleen remains unfazed by his dramatics.

"It's better not to resist, man," Hunk advises from where he's now watching from his desk. "It goes by quicker."

Before Lance knows it, Colleen manages to strip him of the blue uniform top (it had flown into Hunk's hands somehow), wrap peppermint oil around his bruising biceps, leaving him in the tank top he wore under his uniform to sign Keith's card before turning back to Lance when a thought occurs to her.

"Oh that reminds me - Lance, if you see Allura can you tell her that we've managed to reanimate the juniberry specimen we got from the Altean ships?" she asks, handing him back the card. "It's in my office so she can pick it up."

"Sure, Mrs. Holt."

Proud of her handiwork, she waves goodbye and leaves the lab. Lance blinks slowly as the doors swooshed closed behind her.

"That happened so fast," he squeaks, and Hunk gives him a sympathetic shoulder pat before handing him back his blue uniform jacket. 

"You get used to it," he says as Lance takes the jacket. "Pidge and I are just working on upgrading some of the shields for the lions so that they can compete against the mecha Honerva created."

Lance watches as Pidge goes back to plugging and unplugging two cords, her newly bandaged face scowling. "Allura and I managed to gather some intel from the Galra Cruiser we ambushed earlier, but there wasn't much on the Altean mecha we've been fighting or even Sincline. Only vague updates about different quintessence sources for power."

"But what we did get helped us start working on something that can maybe help Voltron endure more of Sincline's heavier blows," Hunk explains, knocking on the chunk of metal between them. "At least until we figure out what the heck Honerva is doing with it."

"Oh wow, that's really cool!" Lance grins. Even if the science and the tech part of the missions always seemed to go over Lance's head, he still enjoys hearing the updates Team Punk are cooking up for their lions. "I just came by to see if you could sign this card for Keith since he's getting discharged today, but I can help you guys test this if you want?"

"Keith's discharged from the med bay, huh?" Pidge squints at him through her rounded glasses suspiciously. "Is that why you're so spacey today?"

Lance rolls his eyes and shrugs on his jacket, leaving it opened in the front. "Sure. He's, like, our leader and stuff."

She doesn't seem very convinced, and neither does Hunk who shares a raised eyebrow look with her. Lance can't blame them.

"You sounded very frazzled about it when you came in here," Hunk presses, taking the card from Lance and skimming over it. "Is there possibly something else on your mind that you'd want to share with us?"

"Something about our leader?" Pidge adds, turning in her chair to hang over the back and giving Lance a knowing look. "And how much you missed him?"

Lance feels his face burn. "I didn't miss him that much! I'm just happy he's back!"

"Yeah, we all are but, like," Hunk pauses, brows scrunching as he thinks of the best way to phrase whatever he is going to say. He looks down at the card and signs neatly with a small note. "You and Keith are different."

Pidge grabs the card when he's done and spins in her chair until she's hunched over the desk. "Are you really gonna go there with him, Hunk?"

"Go where?" Lance demands, turning between his friends like he's watching a tennis match as they exchange more knowing looks. "There's no _there_ to go to! We're teammates. Friends. Just like I am with you two!"

"Oh Lance," Pidge sighs, kicking off from the desk so her chair can hover over to where Lance is standing and hands him the newly signed card. "You are definitely not like us how you are with Keith."

He takes the card, and feels a hole in his chest begin to bloom.

Does he love Keith as something more?

Could Lance fall in love with a boy like Keith?

Could Lance fall in love with a _boy_?

Lance squares his jaw, ready to retort when Hunk interrupts.

"Pidge! Look! I got it to work!" he cheers, the plugs in his hand as a colorful pink, purple and blue light shield blooms between them. "Pretty awesome, right?"

"Oh my gosh, Hunk, you're a genius!" Pidge cheers, leaping from her seat and scurrying to his side. "How did you manage to scrub the ventral spacial field generator?"

"I realigned the toroidal wave shaft! It should compensate for the variance in the neutrino field!"

Soon the two of them are so deep into technobabble that Lance lets himself out into the hallway without them knowing. His head is so full of questions and anxieties that he walks away on autopilot.

Lance floats through the hallways of the ship, stopping only to ask someone he recognizes to sign Keith's card. He spots Acxa in the hall, speaking softly to Romelle as she sits on a bench. Released from the medical bay after their mission, her left wrist is wrapped in an ace bandage and nestled in a sling around her neck. Meanwhile, Acxa's hair is pulled back, braids tied neatly around her horns, with a dressing above her left eyebrow. 

They're both pretty in their own distinct ways. Even if Lance isn't going to lay a line on them (mostly because Acxa still scares him and Romelle never shows interest) he's able to recognize their attractiveness, so there is no way he is totally playing for the other team, right?

Acxa senses his presence and ends her conversation with Romelle to glare at him. Or maybe that was just her face. He still doesn't have a good read on her. For whatever reason, Veronica is really into her, and while Lance figures it's only the bad girl vibes, Keith also trusts Acxa, and he trusts Keith's judgment.

"What's in your hand?" she demands, eyes glued to the envelope.

"Uh, hi to you too, Acxa," Lance says, making a sad attempt at a greeting. "How did your mission go?"

She arches a brow, the action moving the bandage up her forehead. "You can read the debriefing from this morning and find out for yourself."

"I think he's trying to make polite conversation, Acxa," Romelle suggests, leaning her head against the wall. "Hello, Pointy Chin, our mission was successful."

"That's good, but you gals all look pretty banged up."

"Yes, the plan did end up going...what's the phrase Rizavi used?"

"Full Voltron," Acxa offers.

"Yes! I was captured, and can't remember much before Acxa rescued me," she sighs, looking up at the other woman. "And I can't shake this awful headache."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Lance offers, extending his hand with the envelope. "I'm collecting signatures for a Welcome Back card for Keith since he's cleared for duty again."

Lance notices Acxa's eyebrow twitch again and can't help the slithering feeling similar to jealousy (because it's _not_ jealousy) curl in his gut. Maybe he could get back at Veronica by sharing that her crush is still harboring some weird Galra feelings for someone else. 

"Keith will be back to piloting?" Acxa asks taking the card and a pen, and Lance nods. She leans against the wall to sign. "That's good to hear, I'm sure he's restless from lack of battle." When finished, she glances down at Romelle who's still sitting on the bench. "Would you like me to sign for you as well, Romelle?"

The blonde looks down at her arm before grinning. "Yes, please!" 

A flustered look crosses the Galra woman's face, and once again, Lance doesn't know how to read it. Was Romelle just flirting? Did Acxa like Keith? Did sexuality even matter to her?

It’s a lot to process.

Lance takes the signed card and goes back through the hallways. He's still trying to sort out his own feelings on the romance spectrum when he sees Matt Holt and N7 who are their own box of sexuality worms that he is not nearly emotionally ready to unpack. Luckily, they just sign the card and go on their way. Although, when Lance sees Matt throw his arm around N7's shoulder and place a kiss on what could be their forehead, he's a little bit wistful. 

“Hey, Loverboy!”

Lance jumps so high he nearly hits the ceiling, behind him Rizavi snickers with Kinkade at her side, camera in his hand.

“Sup, Lance,” he greets, and Lance can tell by the blinking red light he’s recording. 

“What are you two doing?” Lance asks, clearing his throat to sound less like he shrieked.

She grins mischievously. “Ryan’s recording a documentary about life on the ATLAS and I’m his Executive Producer!” 

“Didn’t you just get out of a firefight with a Galra cruiser, like, a varga ago?”

“Stop living in the past,” she throws an arm over Lance’s shoulder. “Unless it’s for this bombass documentary.”

Lance groans and Kinkade mutters from behind the camera. “Just go with it, she thinks she’s good at this.”

“Hush, you! I refuse to watch another film about yeast!” Rizavi scolds before turning to Lance. “Loverboy Lance was your nickname during the Voltron Shows, right?”

“Uh...yeah?”

“Seems like it’ll be some interesting drama - maybe enough for a B-plot romance?” The grin on her face twists into something nearly maniacal. “How are you and the Princess doing, Loverboy Lance? Is that envelope a gift for her? A love letter, mayhaps?”

“W-what?” he stammers, pulling away from Rizavi’s hold. “Nothing is going on between me and-” She snatches the envelope from his hands before he can finish. “Hey! Rizavi!”

She weaves and dodges out of his clutches, facing the camera. “Audience, we may have ourselves a confession letter in our midst!”

“It’s not a confession letter!”

“Could the will they, won’t they between the Black and Red Paladins of Voltron finally be answered?” 

“Nadia…” Kinkade warns, and she ignores him, fishing open the card while holding Lance back with a solid foot to the chest. She squints, trying to read the front, eyebrows raising up into her hairline.

“Why does your confession letter have a picture of someone roasting a pig and half the crew’s signatures in it?”

“Cause it’s not a confession letter!” Lance groans, freeing himself from her hold to stand up straight. “It’s a card for Keith because he’s free to pilot the lions again!”

“Oh.” Rizavi's face twists, tapping her chin. " _Oh!_ The story of once heated rivals turned co-leads of Voltron, and how two young men discovered new feelings-"

"Can you guys just sign it?" Lance interrupts, crossing his arms impatiently. 

Kinkade shrugs. “Got a pen?"

When the card is full of enough signatures, and Lance is tired of collecting them, he turns to swing by Keith's room (which ironically is only a few halls down from the med bay) to drop off the envelope.

Walking to the door of Keith's room gives Lance a strange sense of deja vu. He pushes it down and raps on the door with the edge of his knuckles.

"Hey, it's me," he says, mindlessly. Then it hits him. "Uh...Lance, that is."

The voice that follows is one he's haven't heard in weeks.

"It's open!"

It still sounds a little ragged, but it's Keith, and the smile that's drawn from Lance's lips is hard to hide. Even if he drives him crazy, he can’t deny that he’s missed him.

When the doors open and Lance walks in, the scene he isn't expecting is Allura chatting casually with Keith as she rests at the end of his bed while he sits cross-legged behind her to brush her hair, bobby pins sticking out of his mouth. On her lap, sit the mice, curled comfortably as she strokes them with her perfectly manicured fingers.

Allura's pink uniform jacket rests folded on the chair of Keith's desk, her shoulder injury wrapped and on display under her gray Garrison issued tank-top. Though her boots are shined and polished next to her jacket, the socks on her feet are mismatched, and one is rolling down to reveal the dark, thin ankle peeking out from the hem of her pant leg. 

Behind her, Keith's arm muscles flex under his skin-tight black t-shirt as he gently brushes the tangles from Allura's silver hair, the locks falling between his fingers like moonlight. His thick brows furrowed in concentration, his own bangs pinned back. 

Lance can hear his heartbeat in his ears, swallowing hard. There are a lot of things different in this reality than the one before, and from the glimpses, he has gained there was _something_ between him and Allura. Now, the same _something_ is blooming between him and Keith.

They're both so effortlessly attractive that Lance doesn't know how to process seeing them both in one location. But in this reality, he's lured to Keith like a magnet. It's like the ocean tide, with his feelings for Allura waning and pulling away, and the affection Lance feels for Keith moving in like high tide.

Soon it'll be all consuming.

What if his future Mrs. Blue Lion was really a _Mr._ Blue Lion?

Is he ready for something like that?

Allura is the first to notice him from her seat on the bed. “Hello, Lance!”

Behind her, Keith scowls in concentration, mouth still full of pins. Lance doesn't know why but seeing Keith so focused, his perfectly shaped brows pinched in thought, makes his heart skip a beat. Noticing he just entered, Keith gives a nod of greeting.

Lance shakes his head, hoping to erase the flustered deer-caught-in-headlights feeling he had about seeing his two teammates together. Whatever he's feeling can’t get in the way of the team. What if they can’t form Voltron because Lance is too busy crushing on two other paladins? Honerva would deserve to rip this and every other reality to shreds. 

“H-hey!” he greets, hoping it comes across as bright and gleeful and not shaky and bewildered. “Are you feeling better?”

“A little bit,” she says, eyes rolling up as if she can see Keith behind her. “I rested in the med bay for a while and realized how knotted my hair has gotten. I was looking for help brushing it out when I bumped into Keith in the hallway.”

Gently, Keith pushes Allura’s head back down so he can put in a few pins to get the hair away from her face. “I was looking for Shiro,” he explains, pins still in the corner of his mouth, so he pronounces the name like _She_ _-roo_.

“Didn’t take you as the hair styling type, considering how awful yours is,” Lance notes, taking a seat at the end of the bed. His eyes land on the folded up pink top on the chair. “Why did you take your uniform top off?”

Before Allura can answer, Keith spits the rest of the pins out into his palm. “Because she sheds like a cat and nobody on this ship ever shares their lint rollers!”

“Your wolf is why everyone needs a lint roller!” Allura flings back with a pout and Lance smiles, leaning back against the wall.

“She’s got you there, man.”

“Don’t even act like you’re not one of the lint roller hogs!” Keith accuses, pointing the brush at him threateningly.

They fall into a comfortable silence with Keith brushing while Lance and Allura play with the mice. Until Allura taps Lance's knee to gain his attention. "I wanted to apologize for my harshness earlier. It wasn't fair to you or Coran."

Lance gives her lazy, half smile and a wink. "Don't worry about it. It was a tense situation."

She smiles and winces when one of Keith's pins tugs too hard.

"Sorry," he murmurs behind her. "Pin snapped."

Allura wrinkles her nose and turns back to Lance.                                                                                                

“Adam says Tavo should be able to heal now that the entity is removed. Romelle told me he was someone who could be helpful in gaining the Altean pilots’ trust."

"Sounds like a better use of their time than keeping them locked in the basement with our pirate friends," Lance shrugs and feels the card in his pocket. "Ah! That reminds me!"

He motions to Allura who looks at him curiously, turning her attention to the card and making a writing gesture. It takes a few ticks, but it clicks, and she grabs the pen from his breast pocket, spinning him around so she can use his back as a writing surface.

"What are you two doing?" Keith asks, arching an eyebrow over Allura's shoulder.

"Nothing~" she answers in a sing-songy voice, handing Lance the card back. Keith looks suspicious but doesn't press it.

“Okay, I think you’re done," Keith announces, pinning a final strand of Allura’s hair back. "Lance, can you hand her the mirror over there?”

“Sure,” Lance reaches for the red hand mirror that came with all their Garrison issued toiletries (Lance’s is blue, and he keeps it in his bedside table). “It came out nice.”

Allura takes the mirror, inspecting her hair with small turns. It’s nothing too elaborate, a simple half-up, half-down like she used to wear on the castle ship. Her hair has somehow grown even longer in their months in space, making the top knot a more accessible option. On her shoulder, the mice applaud the appearance. 

“Very nice, Keith,” she preens, looking at the other paladin who’s hopped off the bed to stand in the middle of the bedroom, removing the bobby-pins from his own hair. When he stretches his arms back, Lance can see a hint of skin that’s visible as his shirt rides up. “You are a man of many talents.”

He grunts in reply crossing his arms over his chest with a yawn. “What brings you here, Lance?”

“Oh.” Lance breaths, realization dawning across his features when he thinks he's caught staring. But a second glance confirms that Keith is staring at where Lance's hand is close to touching Allura’s leg on the bed. Feeling embarrassed, he pulls his hands into his lap, biting his bottom lip. “I was speaking with Shiro before, and he gave me some...news.”

“What kind of news?” Allura asks, leaning forward and looking at Keith. “Is there a debriefing we’ve missed?”

“No, not really," he fiddles with the scratchy Garrison issued comforter between his fingers. "He said he's retiring from being a paladin."

"Starting when?" Keith asks, and Lance looks up at him from the bed.

"Immediately, now that you're cleared to fly again."

"That makes sense, given our situation," Allura curls her legs up to her chest, turning to Lance. "I suppose he wanted you to determine with us who would fly which lion now?"

Lance nods and Allura hops off the bed, grabbing her boots and uniform jacket briskly.

"In that case, I'll take Blue back," she says quickly enough as she makes her way to the doorway. 

Lance balks. "Wait, are you sure? Red was your father's lion."

"I've told you before, Lance, the Red Lion is not meant for me," she smiles over her shoulder, her eyes flickering almost knowingly. "Now, that's one lion settled. You two figure out the rest and tell the team."

Lance and Keith exchange a look, and he sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. "Fine. Make sure you meet up with Colleen, by the way. She has something for you."

She nods and waves goodbye, walking through the door, leaving the two of them alone in Keith's bedroom. It feels eerily familiar. Lance crosses his arms over his chest, shoulders pressed against the wall.

There's a beat of silence until -

"I'll fly Red." 

Lance blinks, realizing that both he and Keith had said their decision at the same time. He groans, "C'mon, dude!"

"Listen, Lance - you've been piloting Black for movements now. It doesn't make any sense to swap out the leader midway through the mission."

"I only stepped in because you were injured!" Lance argues, shuffling off the bed to stand across from Keith. "I was fine flying Red, and I'm still fine with flying Red."

"But you're good in Black!"

“Trust me, I’m good in all the lions.” Lance laughs, laying the bravado on thick. If Keith’s only hang up is uncertainty that Lance's feelings would get hurt going back to Red, he would just have to prove him wrong. "If you're worried about me being a better BP than you, it's not gonna happen."

Keith cocks a thick brow. "What makes you think you haven't already?"

"Because I'm not you," Lance replies, in earnest. It is no secret he admires Keith's leadership and how much they've grown together. Certainly, the other boy can see that. It’s damn near obvious.

Still, Keith shifts between his feet as if looking to bolt from his own bedroom.

Lance frowns, deciding that maybe he needs to elaborate more. "Look, man - you always tell me to keep the team together whenever you run off during a mission to do your hero thing, and I always do. Me piloting Black while you were hurt...it was just me doing it again."

Keith's arms squeeze even tighter across his chest, and Lance can't read the expression on his face. He looks like he's thinking, but it also looks like he's angry at the floor. Knowing him, it could be a mix of both.

"Is that the way you really feel?"

"It really is."

"Then fine...you can have Red back, and I'll pilot Black."

Lance grins widely, nodding his approval rather eagerly. He's excited for things to go back to semi-normal with the team. He’s also relieved he won’t lose Keith again, and he can go back to figuring out how to get Lotor and Slav out of the rift.

Now, Keith knows Lance isn't gunning for his spot this time. It is a great arrangement, so why does Keith still look like a kicked puppy with his arms crossed?

"Wanna shake on it?" Lance teases, extending his arm. The motion is enough that the card falls from his open jacket, fluttering to the floor between them. Before Lance can reach for it, Keith scoops it up in one quick motion. "Hey! Don't take stuff that falls out of people's jackets!"

"It's addressed to me," Keith points, tapping his name on the envelope. He turns it over, flipping the flap open easily. "What are you doing with this letter?"

"It's not a letter, it's a card," he clarifies, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Shiro got it for you at the Space Mall and asked me to get everyone on the ship to sign it. That's what I was having Allura do when you were finishing up her hair."

Keith blinks, opening the card to see several notes and signatures from people across the ship - some of which Lance isn't even sure he knows, but saw in the hallway and figured they could sign. After a few moments, his brows furrow again, and he looks at Lance sternly. 

"Where's your name?"

"W-what?"

Keith taps the card. "Everyone else's name is on my card but yours."

"Well yeah, cause I was collecting them!"

"No excuse," Keith turns around to his desk, pulling out a pen and handing it with the card to Lance. "Sign it now."

Lance rolls his eyes. "Oh my god, you're so annoying."

He leans over the desk and signs the card like a good sport. He finds the last small space and writes as neatly as he can _Welcome back, Team Leader!_ with a little mini drawing of one of the lions. When he's done, he hands it back to Keith with a huff.

"Satisfied?"

"Hmmm," is all Keith says, reading over the note. Lance is about to push for a better thanks when there's a ping over the PA system, and Veronica's voice echoes through the ship.

"ATTENTION ALTAS CREW - PREPARE FOR LANDING ON PLANET DRAZAN. WE'RE GOING TO CLEAR DAY." Her voice calls, and then there's a pause. "UNLESS YOUR NAME IS LANCE MCCLAIN, IF SO THEN YOU CAN EAT DIRT."

The PA cuts off, and Lance's face falls. Keith raises an eyebrow at him  "Are you two fighting?"

"Something like that," Lance swats the air, turning around to leave the room. "C'mon let's find the others and figure out what this Clear Day situation is all about."


	8. Love Rollercoaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Clear Day! Clear Day!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can finally get my hands on the Clear Day chapter and do this cast JUSTICE!!!
> 
> Chapter title is from Red Hot Chili Pepper's cover of "Love Rollercoaster"
> 
> Enjoy!

“We’re going to be glorified security guards?”

Keith watches as Shiro shuffles his feet at the simplification of their mission. They've all gathered on the bridge of the ATLAS after Veronica's page over the PA system. Currently, the Communication Commander is on the opposite side of the room, pretending her brother doesn't exist. On the other side, Lance is doing the same while Adam looks exasperated by the whole thing.

"Isn't that kinda what being a Defender of the Universe means?" Lance shrugs.

"Ooooh!" Hunk calls, giving the other paladin a low-five. "Good one, Lance!”

It's been a while since Keith has been a part of these briefings. Although, taking the position of leader from Lance was as easy as the other paladin handing off a baton. The rest of the team seems happy to have him back, and now that the lions were settled he could admit to himself that Lance and Allura going back to Red and Blue is a relief.

He and Allura may be working on their friendship, but it's still bumpy and awkward at times.

Mostly because Keith is in love with her almost-boyfriend.

It's not exactly a secret. Keith doesn't do much to hide his affection for the other paladin. Shiro had picked up on Keith's pining during their long trip back to Earth. 

Keith had attempted to feign ignorance, but he was outed by his own mother.

"Two years on the space whale. Guess how many visions were about the Loud Mouth?" she sneered, and Shiro had gasped and slapped him on the back of the head.

"Ow! I'm piloting!"

"Still?!" Shiro said, dumbfounded, looking between Krolia and Keith for elaboration. "I thought this crush-"

"I don't have a crush on Lance!"

"You do, but that's beside the point," he had waved him off. "Are you gonna tell him?"

"There's nothing to tell, stop it!" Keith had screeched. "And can you sit down? I didn't save your life so you could die because you didn't wear a seatbelt.”

Shiro had just given him an exasperated look. "Well, that answers Coran's question why you let Lance choose who went in which lion."

Keith made Black take a sharp, hard left, sending Shiro crashing into the console. 

Things haven't changed much since then.

"Planet Drazan was one of the few planets we couldn't convince to join the Voltron Coalition," Pidge explains to Keith. “They’re like the Voltron White Whale of allyships.”

Lance looks at Coran skeptically. “Because _someone_ messed up our tour schedule and missed the one day of the year when they aren’t being hounded by a giant monster!”

“But we still managed a fantastic show of support without the Drazan!” Coran fights, crossing his arms in a huff. 

"It was a complicated situation, but now we have a chance to make it right. There's been some violent activity in this quadrant, but Drazan refuses to cancel the fair. If we help the Drazan people during their Clear Day festivities, we can keep an eye out for them in case Honerva tries anything," Shiro mediates with a shrug. "Plus, it looks kinda fun, and morale around the crew has been low lately given all the battles."

Hunk nods. "Agreed. It is time for some R & R...rest and respite from fighting giant space monsters."

"I'm down," Lance turning to Keith with a tilt of his head. "What says you, Team Leader?"

The nickname falls quickly from his lips but signals enough of a change to snap Pidge's attention to Keith and Lance.

"Ooh, does this mean Keith is back in Black?" she asks, leaning over the railing of the bridge. She looks between him, Allura and Lance. "Are we back to Voltron 2.0 lineup?"

"Yeah," Keith admits, rubbing the back of his neck. "Seemed like the easiest option."

Hunk slaps him over the shoulder, and Allura smiles. "It's good to have you back, Keith."

Lance bumps him with his hip and Keith turns away to catch Shiro glancing at him with a knowing look. He twists to face the console to avoid both of them. 

"Thanks, everyone, but back to the mission," he stammers. "I think this is a good way for us to get used to working together again. The stakes are low."

"Don't tell the Drazan that," Lance rolls his eyes. "They act like Clear Day is the best thing since Claritin crystals were mined."

"Pidge?" Veronica asks, eyes not looking up from her terminal as she taps away at the keyboard. "Can you please tell my brother that his joke sucked?"

She turns to Lance, seeming to enjoy relying the information a little too much. "Veronica says your joke sucked."

"Oh yeah?" Lance bristles like a cat being dangled above water. "Tell my sister she wouldn't know a joke if it ran naked in front of her!"

"I know your face is a joke," Veronica counters, hitting her mark like a bullseye. "And you're fully clothed."

"Ohhhhh!" Hunk calls, hands in the air. Lance gives him the ultimate look of betrayal as Adam snickers from his station. "Sorry Lance, that was a good one."

Lance and Veronica both huff, turning away from each other angrily. Shiro sends his arm zooming between Pidge and Veronica like a barrier as if it could physically stop the nonsense from happening.

Keith figures he doesn't wanna know. 

Veronica turns back to her screen, typing loudly on the keyboard. “That’s creepy that it can just zip around like a little arm robot pet.”

“It sounds like we’re all in agreement about the mission,” Shiro announces, pulling back as his arm returns to its socket. “Team Voltron suit up. Rest of the crew, you’re allowed to attend as civilians."

"Actually, I will not be joining."

Everyone looks toward the back of the room where Allura stands, rod straight against the door. Her jacket is buttoned up to her neck, and her hair falls in the elegant curls Keith had helped her style earlier.

Lance stops pouting, and Hunk turns to her with concern. "Why not?"

"I'm not really feeling up to it after the last mission," she explains. "And this doesn't seem like a situation that will require Voltron."

Shiro crosses his arms over his chest and gives Allura a concerned look. 

They've always been closer than people on the crew realized. Now that Keith's been Black Paladin, he knows what it's like to have someone who you trust with your life and the lives of your team. It’s a bond deeper than friendship, and one that doesn’t require thanks or apologies. Wordlessly, you understand the appreciation and the importance of them in your life. 

The staredown lasts for a tick more until Shiro finally relents. "If you're sure."

She nods and turns to leave the bridge. Lance watches her go, and Keith tries to bury the feeling that’s bubbling in his gut at the longing look he sees drift across his face. He gives himself a mental shake.

“Alright team, let’s suit up,” Keith orders his team, hands curling into rebellious fists at his sides. The tension in the room eases as everyone breaks, and from the corner of his eye, he catches Lance heading in the opposite direction of the changing area.

Keith pretends not to notice, instead walking in-step with Shiro on the way to the locker area. 

“I hope me making the call about Allura not having to join us didn’t overstep any boundaries,” he says, looking down at Keith with an earnest expression. 

Since they’ve both begun leading their own teams, his mentor has taken extra care in ensuring that Keith has enough space to lead Voltron as he saw fit. It was a nice change of pace from when they had bashed heads when Keith was first leading the team. Although it had been his clone back then, the memories were still there for Shiro. 

“No, it’s fine,” Keith shrugs. “I have a feeling if it came from me, she wouldn’t have taken it as well.”

Shiro gives him a hum in response facing forward, brows knit together. It didn’t exactly comfort him, but maybe there was a slight chance Shiro was worried about something not Keith related for once.

They break at a fork in the hall, and Keith turns to see Krolia sitting on a bench with Kosmo’s head resting in her lap. At the sight of him, Kosmo’s head zips upwards, tongue lolling as his heavy tail wacks against the chrome walls of the ship. Krolia taps his snout in disapproval.

“No,” Krolia’s voice is even and stern. The space wolf turns to look at her with big, yellow eyes. “Focus.”

Keith stops as his mother holds up a small treat, instantly holding Kosmo’s attention again. Her hand is steady, and soon it drops, and the wolf takes the treat with ease. 

Krolia looks up at him from where Kosmo is happily munching. “Are you joining the others for Drazan?”

“Yeah, are you and Kolvian coming too?”

She shakes her head. “We’ll be staying behind to review some of the data collected from the cruiser. I want to see if there is any information on the still unaccounted for Blade of Marmora members.”

There aren't a lot of memories that Keith can remember from his time on the Space Whale. Two years seeing glimpses of his and his mother's pasts and futures at random intervals had meshed together. However, through it all, there was one vision he had kept close to his heart.

It had appeared during the night, shortly after he had found Kosmo. Still a tiny and nervous puppy, Keith had spent the night caring for him and making sure he had felt safe in the makeshift hut he and Krolia had hobbled together. Krolia had gone to sleep, and Keith was up by the fire when the flare had occurred.

By this point, it was an old hat, and he braced himself for whatever glimpse he would see out of context. 

What he wasn't expecting to see was a pair of brilliant blue eyes he hadn't seen in years, crinkled at the corners from laughter. His hand was being held tightly by familiar brown fingers, rough and scarred, with a wedding ring that glimmered in the sunlight. They were sitting somewhere bright, in a field or a grassy meadow. Around them were faces he couldn't pick out, but for some reason, he definitely saw Acxa there too.

The vision was gone, and Keith gasped as when the air had returned to his lungs. He hadn't even realized he was crying until Kosmo climbed onto his chest with oversized paws and began licking his tears away with his scratchy, tiny tongue.

Keith still hasn't asked Krolia if she had seen the vision too, but she didn't need the Quantum Abyss to tell her how her son felt about his right-hand man.

“Can you watch him while I’m out?” Keith asks, running a hand through Kosmo’s fur as the wolf whines as if sensing he was being left behind.

“Of course,” Krolia nods, resting back against the wall with an amused look on her face. 

It instantly puts Keith in a worse mood. He’s known his mother long enough to know there are only two things that can earn that kind of look: a hard-won battle or something she finds humorous about his misfortune.

He knows it’s the latter.

“What?” he demands.

Krolia smiles and settles back as if she’s considering whether or not to enlighten him with her answer. “I’ve heard there is a Clear Day ride that is particularly nice for couples.”

“Good to know,” Keith replies, walking past her as Kosmo barks happily. He isn't sure yet if his wolf could laugh, but that sounded pretty close.

It takes Keith slightly longer than usual to change into his paladin armor. Once his boots are on, Keith stands at the full-length mirror across from their stations. 

One of the perks of being part of Voltron meant they didn’t need to squeeze together to get ready in the communal lockers. They also got their own rooms, which Keith didn’t know was such a privilege until he walked James back to his room the first night on ATLAS and saw that all the MFE Fighters shared a room with two sets of bunk beds. It didn’t seem to bother the other boy, but if Keith was stuck in a confined space with Lance, he wasn’t sure who would kill the other first. 

Actually, knowing Pidge and how she liked to stay up late and not be disturbed, she would definitely kill them before they even knew what hit them. 

He’s pulled out of his reverie when Hunk pops his head around the corner of the space.

“Are you decent?” he demands.

Keith looks down at his full armor. “Uh, yeah?”

“Okay, cool,” Hunk turns around. “Pidge you can come in!”

Hunk crosses the threshold with Pidge in tow, both fully suited. She looks at Hunk, slightly exasperated.

“You don’t need to shield my eyes, Hunk. I’ve seen plenty of boy butts just living with you all in the castle.”

“Well, maybe Keith doesn’t want you seeing his boy butt,” Hunk counters. “I’m protecting the team’s modesty.”

The two have a friendly squabble, and Keith feels himself growing more disconnected. Contrary to popular belief, Keith isn’t an introvert. Sure, he’s lived mostly a solitary lifestyle whether it was when he lived in a small shack after getting booted from the Garrison or when he spent most of his time at the Blade of Marmora headquarters at the training grounds. But he never felt energized when he was alone. He truly does enjoy connecting with people, even if it sometimes took him longer to warm up.

However, that same patience he’s been honing has allowed him to start to pick up his teammates tells like when Allura twirls a strand of hair around her finger while she’s thinking or Hunk's nervous nausea.

Now he spots the wrinkle in Pidge’s brow is an indicator that something's worrying her and she's debating sharing it. Considering how fearless she usually is in sharing knowledge, it must be serious.

"Have you been noticing something weird with Allura and Lance?" she asks, quirking an eyebrow and crossing her arms over her armor. It takes conscious effort for Keith to keep his face as neutral as possible.

He’s always been hyper-aware of his feelings for Lance and how they might be perceived to the other members of the team. Keith noticed it when they were lost in space together, the way Hunk and Pidge had exchanged a knowing look when Lance finally ripped into him for leaving and Keith’s immediate reaction to do just that—leave. Since then, Keith has taken careful precautions to feign neutrality as another defense mechanism against the unique dynamic of their relationship.

"Lance is always weird," he says, hoping there's enough fight in his words to shake them off his trail. "And Allura is seeking revenge for the decimation of her entire planet. I get why she's hyper-focused."

Hunk extends his arms out to Pidge as if Keith's words alone end whatever argument they were having, but it's not enough to appease her.

"When we were on the Galra Command ship, I saw her access additional information," Pidge taps the screen on the forearm arm of her suit. Instantly, a hologram appears between them, an image of a closed folder with a lock over it.

"So, a locked file?" Keith asks, raising a thick eyebrow. “Can you decrypt it?”

She shakes her head. “I tried and found out the only way to break it open was with a password. I tried hundreds of combinations, but it wasn’t until I took a step back and saw the name of the file that it hit me.”

With a flick of her wrist, the icon in the hologram twirls and the name _L0T04_ appears.

“Is that supposed to say Lotor?” Hunk squints his eyes. “I feel like this is a trap. Wouldn’t it be in Galra if it was his personal file?”

“Not if it wasn’t his file,” Keith says, looking over the hologram then at Pidge. “Were you able to determine who the owner is?”

“It maps back to Lotor’s cruiser with a secondary mapping to the Sincline ships,” she explains. “So it’s definitely his file - and he wanted it to be found by Allura.”

“How do you know that?” 

“Because the password to access it is _Allura._ As in, her name,” she replies and closes the hologram. “But the second it registered it was coming from my system and not her’s, it locked down again.”

“Wow, so only Allura can access it,” Hunk leans back, rubbing his neck. “Do you think that’s why she wants to stay back? To read this Lotor file?”

“I’d think so, but we’d have to ask her,” Keith turns back to Pidge. “Are you okay if I talk to her and tell her you found this in Rover?”

Pidge shrugs. “She’s already mad at me, but if she’s in trouble, I want to make sure she’s okay.”

He gives her shoulder a supportive pat. “I’ll go do a drive-by of her room, meet me at the hangar with the rest of the crew.”

They nod, and Keith turns to head up to where the paladin quarters are located, and Hunk stops him, grabbing his elbow. “By the way, if you see Lance, can you tell him we’ve been looking for him?”

Keith nods, not knowing how else to respond.

It doesn’t take him long to make his way to the row where everyone’s rooms were on the ship. 

Shiro is annoyed that he’s running late, as at least three crew members have told him as much when he passes them in the halls. It’s not like the planet is going to go anywhere, and it’s not like Keith has a particularly strong desire to attend Clear Day. Crowds aren’t his thing, and carnival games are always rigged.

The fleeting thought of winning a stupid small stuffed animal and giving it to a Lance-shaped silhouette leaves his mind when the real figure of Lance comes into view.

He’s leaned against Allura’s door frame, dressed in his paladin armor, with a goofy grin on his face. Keith is far enough away that Lance hasn’t picked up on him approaching, and against his better judgment, he stops in the hall to eavesdrop.

“You sure you don’t want to join us at the carnival?” he asks, voice soft. “I’m pretty sure the Swathian Meeraket won’t try to eat us.” 

Allura’s laugh trinkles out the doorway like wind chimes. “Thank you, Lance, but I’d like to rest. Maybe you can win me a prize. Something sparkly, perhaps?”

His face brightens like the sun, grinning wide. Keith’s heart sinks lower in his chest. 

“Lucky for you, winning prizes is kinda my specialty. I am a sharpshooter, after all.” Lance pats the doorway as he turns to leave. “Feel better, Allura.”

Allura’s goodbye is muffled around the sound of the door sliding closed. Lance turns, a lazy grin plastered across his face. The urge to punch it off rises like vomit in Keith. He coughs instead, gaining Lance’s attention instantly. When Lance sees it’s him, the grin is replaced with another look.

“Hey!” he greets, jogging the rest of the way to meet Keith where he is standing. They’re the same height, and Keith always thinks he should get used to it but still finds himself fighting an urge to look up. It still feels uneasy to be on the same level as Lance. “Sorry, I was heading to the hangar but wanted to check on Allura first.”

“Yeah, well Hunk is looking for you and Shiro's waiting,” Keith turns to head back to the hangar and falling in step with Lance. He’ll just have to talk to Allura after the mission. “Let's go, we’re already late.”

Lance gives a non-committal response, stretching his arms behind his head as they walk together. Somehow, it manages to piss off Keith even more, and he smacks the other boy’s forearm with the back of his hand. Lance staggers back on his heels.

“Woah!”

“You’re a Second Lieutenant and the Red Paladin of Voltron,” he scolds. “You should at least act like it and not some bored deadbeat.”

Lance narrows his eyes. “Are you giving me crap about my posture when your body language is as inviting as a hornet’s nest?”

Keith drops it. He quickens his steps, keeping his face stern, everything about him tight and fearful. 

They continue to walk in a thick silence. Before he was hurt, walks like this with Lance were fun and full of playful banter. They would even race each other through the halls to where their Lions waited for them. That’s what Keith was expecting, but hearing Lance speak to Allura with sweet words that exemplifies the richness of his tones – luxurious and warm - throws him off. It’s getting harder and harder for Keith to keep his own feelings of jealousy out of their friendship. 

The double doors of the hangar open and Adam sighs loudly. “Finally! We’ve been waiting for half a varga!”

“Sorry,” Keith waves him off. “We got caught up in something.”

Rizavi tilts her head, looking devious. “What kind of something?”

Kinkade elbows her hard, sending her staggering forward. She turns to whack him but is stopped by James. 

“Just checking on Allura,” Lance replies, making his way to where Hunk and Pidge are standing, leaving Keith behind with Shiro.  

Once everyone is accounted for, Shiro activates the elevator to descend to Drazan’s surface. It’s a tight squeeze, with everyone being shoulder-to-shoulder with each other. Keith’s pretty sure one of Slav’s tiny hands is being shoved into his armpit.

Somehow, Veronica passes by Keith to wiggle next to Acxa in the confined space. He tries to keep his irritation at bay at the rudeness of the maneuver. 

“Did Romelle stay behind too?” she asks the taller woman. Acxa shrugs, eyes staring straight ahead at the windows showing several floors passing quickly.

“She was hurt in battle, so it would make sense.”

“I see,” Veronica chews her lip nervously. “If you’re interested, you can stick in the group with the MFEs and me? It could be more fun than patrolling alone.”

From the other side of the elevator, Lance calls loudly to Matt Holt. “Matt, can you tell my sister to hold off on her poor attempts at _flirting_ until after we’re out of this elevator?”

Acxa’s ears tinge pink. She turns away from Veronica as if the design of the elevator’s ceiling requires her immediate undivided attention.

Matt turns to Veronica, mouth open but he shuts it promptly when Veronica snaps. “Matt, can you tell my brother to keep his pointed nose out of my business and to worry about his own love life?”

“Easy, children!” Adam warns. He does his best to raise his hands, but his arms are trapped by his sides, so the best he gets is his moving his hands up-and-down.

Matt turns to Lance, but he’s already leaning over, knee nearly taking out Pidge’s glasses. “Matt, can you tell my sister-”

“How about both of you shut your quiznak until we get out?” James hisses from the front of the car. 

Beside him, Coran leans very close to James, popping that personal space bubble. “You mean _quiznack_. Quiznak is the Altean equivalent to-”

“That’s it! Nobody talks in the elevator!” Shiro snaps. “Next person to say anything will be cleaning escape pod hatches for the next movement!”

Everyone is quiet, and soon the lift grinds to a halt on the surface with a delightful ding. 

The doors swing open, and the team pours out in an anxious mob.

Drazan’s sky is dotted with a few candy-floss clouds, but the moons and overhead lights give everything a mustard tint. The oxygen level was breathable, meaning none of them had to wear a helmet, but the air had a strange sulfur aftertaste.  

The entrance to the fair could be seen in the distance and the long queues edged forward slowly. Faint music could be heard from beyond the tall gates with the occasional happy scream pierces the air. Closer to the entrance, the massive structures of the rides can be seen: a rollercoaster, a big wheel, a helter-skelter.

Young alien children watch the rides, eating sweets and snacks. Ice creams wobble perilously over the cones and drip down their small fingers as they melt; some munch on brightly colored balls of soft sugar strands that dissolve on the tongue, sticking to the teeth like glue. 

“Well look who decided to show up.”

The red Drazan leader sits, the nostrils of his floppy nose flaring. Keith has never met him before, but based on what he’s heard, even though he’s unpleasant, it wasn’t as if he was totally in the wrong. They did leave his planet hanging, after all. 

“Good to see you too, Burr,” Shiro greets, extending out his hand. The Drazan leader doesn’t take it, crossing its fuzzy arms across his chest, eyes wobbling in judgment.

“Couldn’t help but notice your Princess isn’t here,” Burr huffs, turning away. “That’s fine.”

Coran leans over and whispers into Keith’s ear. “He doesn’t mean it.”

“Yeah, I got that.”

Shiro looks behind him at the team, as ATLAS lifts back up into the airspace. “Four paladins of Voltron is more than enough protection for Clear Day, Burr. If anything happens, Princess Allura will, of course, join the fight.”

Burr waves his claws in dismissal. “Like I said, buddy. It’s fine. Can’t expect Voltron to completely follow through on their promises.” 

As Shiro speaks with the Drazan leader, Keith makes sure to keep up an appearance of eager neutrality. He's learned that every sigh or eye roll affected Voltron's success rate. It was one of Keith's least favorite parts about being its leader. 

Every planet they've landed on since he's taken the Black Lion's from Shiro has viewed him with the same critical eye. Each leader sizing him up, as if he wasn't up to the task. He’s young. He’s gay. And in some places, they have an issue with him being young, gay and _half-galra_ while piloting a giant mecha cat robot to save the universe - yeah, there's a lot to unpack there. 

But Allura is the Princess of a seemingly extinct race, and Shiro has a robotic arm and is the captain of a ship that transforms into a giant robot. They aren’t exactly traditional. 

Regardless, this is the part that Keith has to play, even if Shiro and Allura still did the heavy lifting of diplomacy.

“The celebration ends in five vargas,” Adam says, reading off the holo-tablet when Shiro wraps up with Burr. “It’s important to remember that while ATLAS patrols the skies, we are the eyes and ears on the ground looking for any suspicious activity.” 

“These people are relying on us,” Shiro adds as Coran joins the team again. In his hand, he holds a heavy-looking satchel. 

“I pulled some strings and got you all ten complimentary tokens,” he explains, handing them each the coins. “Use them for games, food, rides, what have you.”

“It’s a bummer that Allura stayed back to rest,” Hunk pouts, counting his coins. 

“Yeah, but I’m gonna win something to bring back for her,” Lance beams, looking determined. Keith feels his temper prickle, holding onto the coins Coran hands him tightly.

Pidge pockets her coins. “Aww, that’s nice of you, Lance. I’ll help too.”

“Me three!” Hunk cheers, raising his hand up. “Garrison trio activate!”

“Let’s remember why we came here in the first place,” Keith interrupts, scowling. “To provide security for the event.”

The moment the words leave his lips, Keith begins to panic. Had he been too obvious? Was he too harsh? Is his jealousy about Lance that noticeable? The team stares at him, and Pidge exchanges a look with Hunk. 

“Well, I better go find the arcade and make sure it’s safe!”

“Yeah, me too!” Hunk says, racing after Pidge. Coran exits in the same direction talking about some kind of Yelmor yodeling contest.

Lance gives him a fleeting glance and then looks at the coins in his hand then back at Keith. He opens his mouth to say something but is interrupted by Rizavi.

“Listen, Grumpypants, this place is as secure as it’s gonna get. So, I’m gonna go try to secure myself some cute stuffed animals,” she slings her arms around James and Leifsdottir’s shoulders. James tries to remove it but fails to break her hold. “C’mon MFEs, let’s go play some games!”

Kinkade follows as she drags their teammates away. “You know those games are all rigged, right?”

“Not if you have a probability obsessed super genius on your team!” Rizavi grins, motioning at Slav to join her. “C’mon Multi-Hands - let’s do this thing!”

Noticing he is being spoken to, Slav scurries up behind her, eyes wide with wonder. “This is my first experience with this type of environment, but from what I understand, carnival games lend themselves well to math concepts! Like there’s a .08% chance of succeeding at the ring toss game because they use rings that are too small to fit on the bottle!”

“See? We got this in the bag!”

The team walks off, and Veronica turns to look up at Acxa. “Do you wanna try the games too?”

She shakes her head. “Your human friend is correct, these games are all set up for the players to lose. Clear Day is a notorious spot for swindlers, especially Unilu who have left their swap moons. We should keep our guard up, as Keith advises.”

Veronica looks around the other woman and spots one of the Unilu girls leaning against a booth, blowing a large bubblegum bubble. It pops, and she struggles to unstick it from her face. 

“Yeah, they seem really terrifying,” she deadpans, but perks when she notices the booth next to it. “Is that a Fortune Teller?”

Before Acxa could ask what that was, Veronica hooks her arm through her elbow and rushes to the booth. She makes sure to shoulder check Lance when she passes. 

Lance stumbles from the impact, dropping some of his coins. “Ugh! Quiznack!”

He bends over, and Keith crouches down next to him to help pick up the fallen tokens. When he hands Lance the four coins he’s managed to salvage, he’s met with a soft smile that nearly reaches his blue eyes. 

“Thanks, man.” Lance slaps him on the back good-naturedly before turning to fall into easy conversation with Sam and Colleen. 

Behind him, Keith hears a sound of disappointment. Against his better judgment, he turns and sees Adam and Shiro shaking their heads. 

“Keep giving your team that face and you’re gonna scare them all away,” Adam notes over his holo-tablet. 

“If we’re not here for protection, then what are we doing here?”

“Keith, relax. Go have fun,” Shiro instructs, patting him on the shoulder. “A few hours at the carnival may give us the boost we need to get back on track.”

They walk off with the Holts, leaving Keith and Lance alone at the front of the park. They stare at each other, and again, Keith sees a flash of apprehension cross Lance’s face. It’s just a brief look, but it’s enough to ignite a rage inside him that could boil the ocean. Keith turns away and begins to move for patrol.

“If you’re done lollygagging, then maybe you can make yourself useful and help me patrol the parameter of the fair,” he barks over his shoulder when he passes the other paladin. “Unless you’re too busy gift shopping?”

Lance frowns but says nothing. He trots after Keith and falls into an easy stride as they scour the fairgrounds. After rows of carnival games, they stumble into the food court. 

The air smells like roasted meat and sweet candies as patrons wander from stall to stall, sampling mulled wine and skewered meat, fondling velvet-lined bags full of tokens. Keith mulls over the sight from afar with his hands, crossed tightly against the breastplate of his armor. 

“Are you gonna make that face the entire time?” Lance finally asks, hand on his hip. “Cause if so, I’m gonna ask for a new patrol partner.”

Somehow, Keith’s brows frown deeper. “This is just my face.”

“Then fix it, because it’s scaring the children," Lance huffs, marching down the line of booths. "I'm getting a space corn dog. You want anything?"

"Not particularly."

Lance gives him a long look over his shoulder that makes the knot in Keith's stomach tighten. For the second time that day, he gives Keith an unreadable expression before marching away.

Taking a deep breath through his nose and out of his mouth, Keith tries to relax. He’s wound so tight with irritation at something entirely out of his control. If Lance wants to date Allura, that’s his business. 

It wasn’t like Keith had any claim on him, and his jealousy was causing him more harm than good. It was only a matter of time before it would affect their ability to form Voltron, and what kind of paladin would he be if he let the universe suffer because he had an unrequited crush on his best friend?

The whole situation is a disaster, and the last place Keith wants to be is at a festival surrounded by crowds of people. He feels the shove of a small body hitting his hip. He looks down to see two young Drazan children staring up at him.

“Are you the Black Paladin of Voltron?” one of them asks, and Keith feels himself freeze. He isn’t good with kids, let alone alien ones who want to ask him questions about Voltron.

He clears his throat, deciding to lean into the role. “Y-yeah! I fly the Black Lion.”

“Why are you here?” the other kid asks.

“To keep Clear Day safe.”

“From who?”

“Suspicious characters,” Keith answers, crossing his arms. “Have you seen anyone around here acting suspiciously?”

The kids exchange a glance, grinning like goofs. “Well, this one weirdo is going around and bothering people, asking if they’ve seen anything suspicious.”  

Keith’s face lights up. He knew there had to be something going on - he could work with an actual threat.

“Okay, that’s a start,” he says, leaning forward. “Did you get a good look at-”

The kids are biting their lips to keep from laughing, and Keith sighs when it occurs to him.

“It’s me, isn’t it?”

Both kids burst into hysterical laughter, bounding off to one of the booths to grab some food. Behind them, Keith hears the sound of someone slow clapping.

“That was such a joy to watch, I wish I’d recorded it.” 

Keith spins around to see Lance, grinning widely with his orange space cellphone in his hand. He taps the screen with a gloved thumb, and a flash bursts taking Keith's picture. 

"Lance!"

His protests are ignored as Lance strolls over, inspecting the image on his screen. He spins it around, and a picture of himself pouting stares back at him. 

"It’s you in your purest form," Lance snickers, dodging Keith's hand when he tries to grab the phone. "Nah-uh, you see with your eyes, not with your hands."

"Delete it!"

"Nope," Lance grins, pocketing his phone and taking a large bite of a mysterious meat on a stick. He hands a second one to him. "Here, take it."

Keith obeys. "Didn't I tell you I didn't want anything?"

"Yeah, but I took it more as a suggestion. Figured you were _hangry_ and that's why you've been more unpleasant than usual."

"Then why are you still here?" Keith asks, ripping into the meatstick with his teeth. Lance blinks, seeming almost shocked by the question.

Eventually, he shrugs. "Force of habit, I guess."

Now it’s Keith’s turn to look shocked, but it doesn’t last long as a hand thrusts into his face, fingers snapping expectantly.

“Let’s go, Grumpypants. We’re still on the clock.”

“Rizavi’s a bad influence on you. ”

“Who do you think taught her the nickname?” 

Keith chews on the food, walking behind Lance as they patrol the area. He knows, logically, why their relationship is always clouded with unease. It is getting harder for him to keep his feelings to himself, but he doesn't have a choice. 

Relationships between co-workers are frowned upon for a reason. Keith knows better than to foolishly believe they are compatible in the long term. All it would take is a few arguments with mean-spirited words flung carelessly to jeopardize their ability to form Voltron. 

He watches quietly as Lance stops by a family of Drazan. Unlike Keith, they don’t view Lance’s casual chit chat as bothersome. If anything, they seem excited to be speaking with a paladin of Voltron. Lance’s lips stretch into a bright smile, lighting up as he happily crouches down to make eye contact with the smallest child in their group.

The child holds up a small, stuffed blue lion to Lance, and Keith watches as he takes a pen from his belt and signs his signature neatly. When he hands it back, the child is so overwhelmed with joy, they jump and wrap their arms around Lance's neck in an embrace. 

The scene makes Keith's chest tighten when Lance lifts the child on his hip. Keith can’t hear what he’s saying, the noise of the festival is too loud, but his face is animated, and when he turns to him, he points to Keith, and the warmth quickly melts into a low-key panic. The Drazan child makes eye contact with Keith, their eyes wide with wonder. Keith waves awkwardly and the child’s tiny eyeballs restrict in embarrassment. 

Lance’s laugh rings out, breaking away from the carnival music. He turns to say something to the child’s parents. Before Keith can even call back to him to stop schmoozing with the locals, Lance is jogging back to where he’s standing, the child still in his arms.

“Hiya!” he greets when he reaches him, adjusting his hold on the child as he looks over at him. “I was chatting with my new buddy Kizeak here and asked who his favorite paladin is. Guess who he said?”

“Uh...you?” Keith asks, dumbly. Judging by half the carnival and the stink-eyes the last group gave him, it certainly wasn’t him. Lance makes an obnoxious noise with the back of his throat that sounds like a game show buzzer.

“Wrongo!” Lance turns to Kizeak. “Who’s your favorite, bud?”

Kizeak’s fur spazzes and he digs his face into the shoulder plate of Lance’s armor. Keith looks up at Lance, who mouths “ _He’s shy. ”_ Keith nods and clears his throat.

“Hi Kizeak,” Keith greets, trying to be as gentle as his voice allows him. “I’m the Black Paladin of Voltron, so all the paladins are my friends. If you have a favorite, I can tell them for you.”

There’s a beat of silence and Keith is sure he’s somehow scared the kid off, and it is only a matter of time before his parents come to carry the boy away. Keith doesn’t have the same magic with kids as Lance does, and it wasn’t like he was part of the Voltron Shows in the coalition. To young fans like Kizeak, he’s practically a stranger.

He’s ripped from his thoughts when he sees a tiny claw move from it’s hold on Lance’s shoulder to point at him.

Keith's breath stutters, and he looks between Lance and Kizeak, like there is a bit of a joke he missed. Maybe the kid thinks he's Shiro or something?

"When Kizeak told me his favorite paladin was Keith, I told him he's my best friend," Lance explains, shaking his head theatrically. "He didn't believe me, so I had to bring him here myself!"

_Best friend._

Right.

Keith swallows hard when the tiny eyes blink up from Lance's shoulder. "Oh yeah, Lance is my best friend and the right hand of Voltron. Couldn't do anything without him."

"Aw, thanks, Keith!" Lance smiles and is interrupted by Kizeak, pulling away and leaning up to whisper in his ear. "Oh!"

"What's up?"

"Kizeak wants to know if we need some ears on the ground here to help," Lance taps his chin with his forefinger exaggeratedly. “Do you have anyone like that in mind, Keith?” 

“That's a good point,” he turns to Kizeak and pulls out a small patch from the pouch on his belt. It was given to him by one of the ATLAS crew to put on his armor, but he never got around to it. It’s a V-symbol for Voltron with a black border.  “We need brave soldiers on every planet to help keep everyone safe when we’re not around. Do you think you can do that, Kizeak?” 

The boy’s head nods so quickly, Keith worries his eyes are going to bounce up and smack Lance right in the face. His enthusiasm is contagious, though, and Keith can’t help but smile as he hands him the patch.

“Wow, that’s the coolest patch!” Lance says, dropping Kizeak back to the ground. “Now you’re basically one of us. So make sure to let any other paladins you see around know if there's any bad guys, okay?”

Keith nods and is suddenly pushed back a step by the force of Kizeak hugging him, tiny arms wrapping tightly around his midsection.

“...thank you,” he says quietly before letting go to rush after his parents and siblings.

"We totally just made that kid's whole life," Lance says, eyes soft and dreamy. "I bet he's gonna hold onto that badge until he's in space college."

Keith rips into his meatstick again, mouth full of the strange tang of animal byproducts. "You think?"

"Duh!" Lance gives him a look of disbelief. "When I was a kid, Shiro came to my elementary school to talk about the Garrison. He wasn't even _that_ famous yet, but it was enough to set me on the path to apply for the Garrison. The day after, I broke into Vero's room and stole as many of her textbooks as I could."

"Did you even understand them?"

"Nope, but that didn't stop me," Lance preens. "I'm telling ya, he is gonna go home and study to be a defender of the universe or a cool space ninja. Your mom did say  her and Kolivan were looking for new recruits for the Blade of Marmora."

"I'm pretty sure they're looking for members who are old enough to ride a rollercoaster," Keith scoffs when they start walking again, tossing his finished stick in a passing trash bin.

“Pfft! Technicalities,” he jokes and swings his arms behind his head as they continue walking. “He did give me an idea of what to get Allura, though. Apparently, there’s a booth around here where you can win little stuffed lions. I’m sure I can win her a blue one since Blue is kind of our thing, and-- _OW!_ ”

Keith stops walking, allowing Lance to crash right into his armor. Lance rubs his nose from the impact, mumbling curses under his breath. They’re standing in the middle of the fairgrounds, and Keith’s hit his boiling point.

Earlier, when Keith was braiding Allura’s hair, he made sure to keep their conversation light and comfortable. But deep down, in the darkest parts of himself, he wanted to ask her one question.

What it was like to be loved by Lance McClain?

Every dumb pick-up line or corny flirt that was effortlessly slung in her direction, he had yearned for while she carelessly batted them away. It tore at his insides and ate at him like a parasite. And even now he couldn’t stop himself from wondering what would happen to their friendship, their teamwork if one day Keith allowed his own petty feelings to form a rift between them.

"Is that seriously all you care about?" he snaps, not moving from where he's standing. "Allura?!"

Lance stops rubbing his face, glancing at the people around them. "Keith, keep your voice down! People are staring…"

"Let them stare, I don't care! Answer the question," Keith demands, ignoring a group of aliens as they begin to crane their snake-like bodies over the crowd to eavesdrop. "Is Allura all you care about?"

"Of course, I care about her, dude! She's my friend," he spits back. "And I thought she was yours too!"

Nice to know that Lance still has the same ability to push Keith’s buttons that he did back in the beginning.

"She is, but she's not all I care about when I'm in the middle of a mission," Keith barks, motioning wildly around them. A small crowd has gathered, blatantly staring at the two paladins. "You always focus on the wrong things!"

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“Oh, you know what that’s supposed to mean!”

"No, Keith, I don't!" Lance throws his hands up in the air. "You're horseshit at using your words, and you have the emotional intelligence of a goldfish. I swear to god, you were easier to be with when you couldn't speak!"

The crowd around them starts to _Ooohhh_ at the insult. Keith ignores them.

"That's rich considering all you ever did was sit by my bedside and babble on about your stupid _crush_ every waking second!" 

"She's not my-" The audience now turns their eyes on Lance, throwing him off his game.

"No wonder she keeps ditching you, Lance," Keith laughs humorlessly. The crowd is eating it up. He's aiming for the blow, and he's going low. "You're clingier than a piece of dryer lint!"

The crowd erupts in another _OHHHHHHH,_ and this one's way louder than the first. Lance's face goes pink all the way up to his ears. He bares his teeth, and Keith knows the punch is coming before he even sees the swing. 

Good. Let them go back to being rivals and fighting all the time. Keith can finally kill these complicated feelings, and they can figure out the Voltron stuff later. 

He's bracing for the blow when they're both pulled back by four thin arms.

"Hey! I said next!"

They look up to see a mustached Unilu man, frowning as he leans over a control console.

"Next on what?!" Lance demands, trying to pull himself from the man’s grasp.

"Next on the line, ya paladoofs!" The Unilu man grunts, throwing Keith and Lance into a round car shaped like a ride buggy. He slams the protective barrier over their legs.

Keith tries to jam the bar up, to no avail. He crosses his arms. "But we weren't in the line!"

"Said just like someone who was in the line would say," the Unilu man grunts, and the buggy lurches forward. "Hands, paws, claws, or tentacles inside the ride at all times!"

The buggy moves slowly through a dark tunnel.

"Let's hope it's a rollercoaster, at least," Keith mumbles, arms stiffy crossed over his breastplate. To his left, Lance groans like he's being subjected to punishment by being stuck on this ride with him.

"I hope it's a water ride, and you get soaked!"

"We're in the same car! If I get soaked, so will you!"

Lance leans back, pouting. "It'll be worth it."

Keith is about to retort when they break through the passageway, greeted by bright lights and animatronic aliens digging around them.

_We burrow every day,_

_Underground is where we stay,_

_Waiting for the time to say,_

_Clear Day!_

_Clear Day!_

 

"Well, at least it's a kiddie ride," Lance leans over the rail when they round the bend. "It should be over soon."

"Good, then we can go back to patrolling. On opposite sides of the festival."

"Far away from each other."

"Can't wait."

"Perfect."

"Great."

"Yup."

 

 

_Clear Day!_

_Clear Day!_

 

The ride grinds to a halt with a creak, and the robotic critters slowing down to a creepy stop. 

"What's going on?" Keith asks, looking around to see that everything in the ride has stopped. 

Lance leans forward, inspecting the perimeter. "I don't see any suspicious people around. Just the other people on the rides."

_"Attention passengers. We apologize for the delay, but we've hit some technical difficulties. Please stay seated as the ride will continue moving momentarily. Thank you."_

The announcement ends with crackling static. Keith and Lance glance at each other from across the car.

Lance breaks the silence first. "Is it just me or are you getting a sense of deja vu?"

Keith groans, pressing his face into his hands.

 

_It's Clear Day!_

_Clear Day!_

_Clear Day!_


	9. bad guy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Keith,” his voice cracks. “Are you crying?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to all my betas for this chapter - I was struggle bussing hard to get the tone down. Couldn't do it without you!
> 
> Chapter title is from Billie Eilish "bad guy"
> 
> Hope you survive til the end!

The gentle hum of the engines beneath Allura's body calm her. They thrum in a steady pattern, like a heartbeat under her palms. It's familiar and soothing. She almost gives in to the urge to close her eyes and drift to sleep.

Allura hunches over the tablet, swiping through files as she peers over every line of code, every letter of old memos, every diagram of reports from deca-phobes past. She sits cross-legged in the bed of her cramped room, gnawing on the end of her stylus. 

After the team had left for Drakan for Clear Day, she had attempted to visit the nameless Altean from Haggar's mechs. The only one willing to talk to her had been Tavo. The rest had been glued to the other side of the holding cell, watching her for any sign of weakness. When it grew too uncomfortable, she had tried sweating off some of her stress on the training deck.

After being easily bested by a bot she knew was on the lowest setting (the one that was usually saved for Altean children) she knew it was time to walk away.

The last time she was this restless was when Zarkon had managed to follow them through his connection with the Black Lion. Those days, she was lucky to have Shiro at her side to pull her away from her work. Now, left to her own devices, she could burn the candle at both ends as she dives headfirst into Lotor's files. 

Around her, the mice have long given up on their research duties and have and have snugly tucked themselves into her knees, snoring lightly. She gently runs her fingers through their soft fur, opening another set of blueprints for the Sincline.

She's quickly discovering just how meticulous Lotor kept his notes over the years. There is an entire folder dedicated to his time at the mining colony, the planet ruled by his ally Ven'tar and managed to produce the highest level of Quintessence the Empire had seen to date. When his reports end right before Zarkon's evaluation date, Allura knows that it is the date the planet was destroyed for their Quintessence. 

From the moment of his banishment, he kept detailed logs of his research for Oriande and, eventually, to create a ship that could traverse the Quintessence Field. So far, everything she's read has aligned with the story he had told her during their work together.

Marking the documentation, she taps her pen and scrolls through more files. Not wanting to go out of chronological order, but needing to know more than a few details about a ship she helped to build. 

She needs to know more about the Altean Colony. 

Given that she wasn't able to retrieve all of the information available, she fears that those secrets left behind for her were still on the Galra Cruiser. Most likely already wiped clean once it was clear it was accessed by the Paladins.

"Allura?"

Shoving her tablet away, she cranes her neck up and sees Romelle standing in the doorway. Her left wrist is wrapped in an ace bandage, but no longer nestled in a sling around her neck. "May I come in?"

Allura nods. "Of course!"

Romelle smiles, the door whooshes shut behind her as she enters the small space. She looks around, her eyes landing on the pink flower that sits on her desk.

"Is that a juniberry?" she gasps, rushing over to the flower to inspect it. With a delicate touch, she lifts the pink petals. "Oh stars, it's real!"

"Colleen gave it to me," Allura explains, not moving from her spot on the bed. She doesn't want to bring any additional attention to the tablet under her pillow. "She managed to grow it within her lab."

"Fascinating," Romelle hums as she inspects it. "On the colonies, juniberries aren't nearly as common as they were on Ancient Altea. From the picture books and fairy tales, they were everywhere."

Allura looks down at the mice, solemnly. "They were....it was lovely."

Romelle’s face twists into embarrassment, and she bows her head, hands gripping the ends of her orange uniform. 

"Ack! I'm sorry, Allura!" Romelle grimaces, hands in front of her face. "I've forgotten!"

She attempts to smile, but she can feel it doesn't reach her eyes. "It's alright. You aren't the only one."

Romelle awkwardly stands in the middle of the room until Allura takes the hint and adjusts the mice, waking them from their nap. When there's enough space to fit, Romelle plops down, blonde hair poofing as she lands. It's braided back into a long fishtail today.

"I like your hair," Allura compliments, and the other woman smiles. She takes the ends between her fingers.

"Thank you! Krolia did it for me."

"Keith did mine earlier, although most of the pins have fallen out by now," Allura muses, twisting a curl around her finger. "I wonder if hairstyling runs in their family?"

Romelle gives a non-committal hum, her back pressing against the wall. "I was surprised when I heard you didn't go to the Clear Day festivities. It sounded fun."

"I could say the same for you."

"Well, I'm injured," she says, pointing to her arm. "What's your excuse?"

"Not feeling very festive, I suppose." Allura shrugs. 

Romelle hardly looks convinced. She frowns as her eyes linger on the tablet sticking out from beneath Allura’s pillow. “Well enough to do some light reading, however.”

Allura ignores the comment. "How is your head feeling?"

"My what?" Romelle asks, the question seemingly confusing.

"Your head?" Allura repeats, tapping her temple. "Before you were saying you had a bit of a headache. Has it subsided?"

"Headache - oh, yes!" Romelle smiles, swatting the air between them. "Much better now, thank you!"

Romelle looks at her from the corner of her eye, her feet dangling over the edge of her bed. The expression on her face is unreadable, which is unusual for the other Altean. She is typically very forthright with her opinions, thoughts, and complaints. Romelle isn't the type to appear pensive.

Allura lets out a long exhale, her shoulders round and a lock of her hair falling from behind her pointed-ear. "Romelle, I have a favor to ask of you."

Romelle blinks at her, as if in surprise. "What is it?"

"Could you tell me about the colony?" she asks, turning to face her fully. "What it was like to live there?"

A hint of pink spreads across Romelle's nose. She attempts to hide her smile behind a stray lock of her hair that she’s running her fingers through. "Well, it definitely wasn't as interesting as living in a Castleship and fighting the Galra."

"You're overestimating how interesting a pack of Earthlings can be," Allura teases, and Romelle can't hide her giggle.

"That is true. Humans certainly do find a way to entertain themselves with such petty squabbles." 

"And it's usually around romance," she notes. "They even included it in that juvenile cartoon they made about Voltron."

"Ah, the love triangle between -" Allura kicks her playfully, nearly knocking her off the bed and Romelle bursts into laughter. "Okay, I won't go there! I promise!"

Allura waits patiently as Romelle adjusts her legs. When she goes to pet one of the mice, they sniff her fingertips before recoiling and hiding in Allura's side. The snub doesn't seem to affect Romelle too much as she withdraws her hand, dropping it in her lap.

"Growing up in the colony probably wasn't much different than most places. There were small villages with shops, bakeries, school and the like," Romelle explains. "We had festivals when the seasons changed and exchanged gifts."

"Did you have the Festival of the Fallen Stars?" Allura asks, trying to mask the hopefulness in her voice. 

“Unfortunately no, the Quantum Abyss didn’t have many stars,” Romelle's eyes narrow, her eyelashes flutter as she smiles. “But I read about that festival in some stories as a child.”

“On Altea, it was the festival where the entire kingdom would travel down to the docks to watch the annual meteor shower,” Allura smiles at the memory. “When I was younger, my father would perch me on his shoulders so I could be closer to the sky.”

She feels a hand cover hers. She glances down and sees Romelle’s long fingers curled against her own. 

Her face morphs into something thoughtful and patient. Again, very unlike Romelle, but it wasn’t something unwarranted. It’s been a while since anyone has asked her about her home.

“The festival was my favorite as a child,” Allura begins, and Romelle shuffles closer to listen carefully. Her hand doesn’t lift from its spot.

“Tell me more?” Romelle requests, voice sugary-sweet as it wraps around Allura’s heart. 

* * *

 

“Betcha 200 GAC the song starts again in,” Lance looks down at his wrist theatrically. There’s no watch on his wrist, but it helps sell the joke. “Exactly 15 ticks?”

Keith doesn’t answer. Instead, he continues to do what he’s done the whole half-a-varga they’ve been stuck on the ride - sit in silence with his arms crossed over his chest, pouting. 

Groaning, Lance swings his feet down from where they’re dangling over the safety barrier. With how long they’ve been stuck, he’s since thrown the idea of safety out the window. “Eventually you’re gonna have to talk to me, y’know.”

He’s met with silence.

“I mean, if anyone should be giving out the silent treatment, it's me,” Lance starts, leaning back on his hands. “Considering how the things you said to me were-” 

“Completely accurate?”

Lance raises his arms up, smacking them right into the hood of the cart. He winces but plays it cool.

“Well look at that, ladies and gents, he speaks!”

He swears he hears Keith huff, turning, so his back was completely facing Lance. Around them, the animatronic aliens continue their singing and fake digging. 

Something was going to break through, and it was either going to be them or this cursed ride they were trapped on.

And Lance doesn't like losing.

"Look, man.” He runs his hand through his hair. “Let's not do this anymore. I don't wanna fight with you."

Keith ignores him, still focused on the robots around them, digging to nowhere. Lance pulls his legs back from the barrier, shifting his body towards the other boy. Apparently, even a weak jab isn't enough to get Keith to face him

"Keith, c'mon!" Lance kicks him with his boot. "I know you can hear me because you _just_ spoke to me."

He kicks harder, nearly shoving him over the side of the buggy. That’s enough to finally get a rise out of him. “Stop!”

Lance can’t help but grin, kicking him harder and trying to hold back his laughter as Keith wildly tries to smack his leg away. 

“Lance!” 

Keith’s warnings fall on deaf ears, as Lance’s legs dance around his flailing hands. Reaching behind him, Keith manages to grab Lance’s ankle, holding his leg up in mid-air. 

"Cut it out!" 

"Not until you stop being a pissbaby and freaking _talk_ to me, dude!"

"Don't call me dude!"

"Oh my _god_ ," Lance groans and tries to swipe at him with his other foot. "Talk to me, _man. Buddy_. _Pal_. _Hombre_."

Keith spins around, his bangs covering his face. He grunts as he takes a handful of Lance’s leg armor and attempts to wrestle him away. Lance tries to squirm out of his hold, thrashing to the side of their tiny car. Suddenly, Lance is thankful for his own flexibility. 

“Lance, stop!” Keith hisses between gritted teeth. “You’re gonna hurt yourself!”

“Wow, that’s rich coming from the guy who’s currently holding me down!” Lance spits back, twisting his body in a way that allows him to reach up and grab Keith by the edge of his breastplate. He yanks the armor sharply down, bringing Keith’s face directly above his so they’re nose-to-nose, Keith’s eyes are still hidden behind his bangs. And that seems to be the end of the little scuffle. Short, complicated and irritating.

Until Lance feels something wet drip on his cheek. 

At first, he thinks Keith spit on him to win their skirmish. But when another drop hits, Lance looks up and gasps in recognition.

“Keith,” his voice cracks. “Are you crying?”

 

* * *

 

_She rests her chin on her knees, eyes resting on the peaks of the blue Altean mountains beyond the juniberry fields. Somewhere someone is humming, but she isn’t sure where it’s coming from._

_A soft breeze blows through her hair, and her name drifts through the air._

_“Allura! The creature...you mustn’t-”_

_She looks up and sees the figure of the man from before. He’s reaching out for her, and Allura extends her hand._

_Her fingertips touch sharp claws._

Allura awakens to the sound of the same humming. Her eyes are still half-closed when thin, pale fingers run themselves along her forehead and manicured nails scratch softly against her scalp. Her cheek is pressed against the fleshy mound of a thigh, the stitches from the pants leaving indents on her skin. She opens her eyes fully to see Romelle looking down at her, eyes sharper than she remembers.

“You fell asleep, Princess,” she whispers. “Did you enjoy your rest?”

Pulling herself up to sit on the bed, Allura is about to ask the blonde how long she was asleep for when Romelle lifts the tablet that was stashed underneath the pillow. Panic begins to curl in her stomach when Romelle flicks the screen, and the holo-tablet opens.

“I’ve been catching up on your reading, and you’ve been busy,” Romelle hums, flicking through the documents. “Why would you ever trust anything written by _Lotor?”_

Allura gasps, the name sending a chill down her spine. It’s been so long since she’s heard his name outside of her own head. On Romelle’s lips, it sounds like poison seeping through her skin.

“If you’re looking to gain the trust of the colonists through Lotor, his words certainly can’t help you,” Romelle huffs, tossing the tablet off the bed. Allura reaches for it, but it fumbles out of her hands and skids across her bedroom floor. “Afterall, he’s a liar, and you have someone far more resourceful right here.”

Allura feels thin fingers gently caress her cheek, curling underneath to direct her chin towards Romelle. The pinks of her irises and blue marks under her eyes appear two shades darker. Her eyelashes flutter, lips curling against her teeth when she speaks.

“Let me show you the way to connect with our own kind,” Romelle breathes, slithering into Allura’s personal space. The air in her bedroom is growing thick, and mindlessly she wonders if the room’s central air is malfunctioning. “Isn’t that what you want, Princess? To find a home with your fellow Alteans?”

Allura nods, her mouth too dry to speak. It feels as if cotton has been stuffed into her mouth, absorbing all her words.

“Of course you do,” Romelle smiles, wide and bright. 

She climbs off the bed, holding Allura’s hands as she pulls her to her feet. They pause at her desk where the pink flower still sits.

“Ancient Alteans believed that all of life began with a single juniberry flower. Long since to have gone extinct, they are the one constant between both our worlds,” Romelle explains, looking over her shoulder to make eye-contact with Allura. “You should know better than anyone, nothing ever truly goes extinct.”

A shiver runs up her spine, and Allura’s blood runs cold in her veins.

_“...ullra...All...ura!”_

From the corner of her eye, she thinks she sees the ghost of a hand attempting to hail her attention, but Romelle whisks her away before she can comprehend it. Blinking quickly, all her eyes catch sight of are the mice still sleeping at the foot of her bed. 

Hand held tight, Romelle leads Allura through the swooshing doors of her bedroom.

 

* * *

 

Lance watches Keith sit back up, palms of his hands pressed against his eyes. He adjusts himself in his seat, awkwardly. 

He’s never seen Keith cry before - get emotional, sure. But crying actual tears was a whole different side of him. To think that he's the one who managed to make that happen makes his stomach sink. Unsure of what to say, he nervously chews on the thumb of his glove.

"God, you're so annoying," Keith mumbles, face still covered by his hands. Lance knows its to hide the tears that already squeaked past. "I hate fighting with you."

Lance can't hide his humorless chuckle. "You started it this time."

"I guess I did."

Keith takes a deep breath in through his nose and then lets the air hiss out his mouth. He leans against the back of the buggy, dropping his arms to his sides. The glassiness of his eyes is the only lingering evidence he had been crying.

"I don't know what I did to upset you," Lance says, voice soft. "And if you tell me I can at least know what set you off. But I can't keep doing this tango with you."

Keith raises a thick, dark eyebrow. "Tango?"

Looking Keith in the eyes makes his own eyes burn. His chest is tight with the anxiety of confronting Keith about their relationship. Honestly, it's been sending him into a spiral since they lifted off from Earth.

He’s known Keith long enough to understand his skittishness - he runs away when he’s overwhelmed. And like most things in their relationship, Lance is complimentary. He’s an avoider and will mask anything that makes him uncomfortable with a joke or a smile -  anything to make the problem go away. But this problem may not ever go away if he doesn’t address it.

"The three steps forward, five steps back thing," Lance finally clarifies. "Every time I think we're actually becoming friends, you throw your walls back up. I came to you when I was worried about giving you Red again, and then you ship yourself off to Kolivan's doorstep."

"I told you why, it was to protect you," Keith asserts, and Lance shakes his head.

"What about when you came back from your journey of self-discovery, and you blew me off after I came to greet you? Or when we were all trapped on that game show, and you picked me because you," Lance makes air quotes with his fingers. "Quote _'didn't want to be stuck here for eternity'_ with me?"

"I barely want to be stuck here with you for five more minutes."

"That jab was weaksauce, Keith," Lance sighs, turning his head to face him. He wonders if he looks as exhausted as he feels. "I thought after you came to my folks for dinner and we had that walk that we were getting somewhere. Then you kept arguing with Allura and-"

At the mention of Allura, Keith grimaces. Lance catches it immediately and gasps. Butterflies begin to flutter around his stomach in a nervous dance.

"Holy crow, is that what this is about?" Lance leans over into Keith's personal space, his hands on his knees. "Is this about Allura?"

Keith's eyes widen like a cornered animal, and Lance knows he's got him. It's written all over his face.

Lance leans back against the seat. "This makes sense now...the lion switch, you coming in hot when the Lotor stuff went south, you hanging out with her and doing her hair…"

He turns to Keith and sees him swallow hard. 

The realization settles in his stomach, and the butterflies freeze. This whole time Lance has been avoiding his feelings, but now that he’s hyper-focused on the boy beside him, he’s wondering if this is anything close to love. He is so worried about losing Keith again, he never once considered that maybe he has already lost him to someone else.

"You like Allura, don't you?"

Saying it out loud is enough to make his heart fall to his feet. Instantly, his mind fills with images of Keith and Allura, holding hands and frolicking in a field of roses back on Earth.

 _"Oh Lance, you're so stupid,"_ Allura would laugh, in her wedding dress as she stands at an altar. _"I'm a Princess."_

 _"And I'm the head of Voltron,"_ Keith would sneer. _"Of course we're endgame."_

In this nightmare, Shiro officiates them. The Red Lion is there too, with a big metallic bowtie. Somehow, through the rift, Slav and Lotor watch too. Lotor seems less happy, but maybe because Keith is also half-Galra he's kind of cool with it. 

"How could you not _tell me_ ?" Lance all but screeches, and he can't tell if it's from losing Allura, Keith or _both_. "This whole time you-"

He's interrupted by Keith slamming his fist into the metal sliding of the ride, denting it slightly from the impact.

And, here’s the thing. For all of Keith’s bad boy reputation, Lance has probably only seen him lose his temper and get truly _mad_ a hand-full of times. A few notable ones being when he punched James Griffin during their junior cadet practicals or when he hit Iverson and got himself booted out of the Garrison or when he came out of nowhere and held the King of Olkarian hostage at knifepoint to get the Galra to release the planet.

Lance can tell by the vein throbbing in Keith's forehead, the twitch below his left eye and the way his other hand is gripping his thigh that he’s really done it this time. 

He made Keith _mad_.

“I don’t like Allura,” Keith breathes out between gritted teeth.

And Lance, because he isn’t totally sure if his brain is hardwired to his mouth, replies, “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Maybe it’s a repressed crush thing?”

“It’s not.”

“How do you know for sure if-”

“BECAUSE I’M GAY, YOU IDIOT!” 

Keith’s voice echoes outside the ride buggy, bouncing off the walls. The Clear Day song is at a lull, so all the other passengers hear it just as clearly as Lance does. 

From behind them, he hears a random person holler back, _“Good for you! Live your truth!”_

Lance is stunned into silence.

 

* * *

 

The hallway has as much personality as the rest of the ATLAS. 

The floor is slate grey and the walls dove gray. Above, the ceiling is made from those polystyrene squares laid on a grid-like frame. The flickering light is too bright for Allura’s eyes after the gloom of her bedroom. She finds it abrasive, enough to perhaps bring on a migraine. 

Above every door they pass is a large metal sign, dark with white lettering. No fancy fonts or the familiar curve of Altean calligraphy. It’s always so spotless; she feels like the whole ship was just beamed here from someplace dirt is outlawed. 

Her eyes fall to the pink flowers in her hand. She doesn’t remember how she’s gotten hold of them. She could’ve sworn she left the juniberries back in her bedroom.

Romelle stops at one of the doors, and Allura feels the hall begin to spin even though her feet are not moving. Tilting her head, Romelle cups a hand to her cheek.

“Just a little further, Princess,” she assures, glancing up at Allura through her eyelashes. “Once you press your hand to the sensor, we’ll be one step closer to our family.”

“The...sensor?” Allura sluggishly looks down to see the lock on the door. “It’s a restricted area. That’s where we keep the prisoners.”

Romelle gasps, placing a hand on her chest. “Is that how you view our friends? As _prisoners?_ ”

Her mind feels so scrambled that Romelle’s words land differently. It’s like she’s in a dream, but everything is still massively overwhelming. The sound of doors slamming and the crew chatting are louder than usual. 

She feels her world spinning again, and she just wants to sit down.

“Romelle...I…” she tries to beg, but the words get caught in her throat again. Romelle makes gentle shushing noises, the air wispy between her teeth as she holds her tightly. It’s soothing, and her grip helps ground Allura. 

“No need to worry, we just need your handprint,” she explains, gently taking hold of Allura’s hand and pressing her palm against the sensor. It scans her palm, quickly blinking green. “There we are! Now nothing is keeping us from our fellow Alteans.”

_“Allura!”_

Before crossing the threshold, she stops. Allura recognizes the voice calling out to her and turns over her shoulder to see a familiar figure reach out to her. She reaches back, but Romelle pulls her away too quickly. Her hand grasps at cool, empty air.

Romelle and Allura’s footsteps echo loudly in the chamber leading into a long hallway. There are cells on either side, most of which are empty. The motion sensor lights flicker on as they pass, creating a path forward to the cell at the end of the hall.

Halfway down the hallway, Romelle stops walking again. She turns around and presses a finger to Allura’s lips tenderly.

“I’ll let our guests know you’re coming,” she promises, tapping the pad of her index finger against her bottom lip. “I’m sure they’ll be so surprised to see you.”

Allura stares down at her boots, shamefully. “They weren’t earlier when I came here.”

“Sshhh,” Romelle shushes again, her warm finger inching up along her lip, the edge of her nail runs along her cupid’s bow. “I’ll make it better, don’t fret.”

Allura feels her shoulders relax and nods. Romelle smiles, so soft it doesn’t reach her eyes. When she turns away, Allura's hands feel cold from the lack of Romelle's touch. She wraps them around herself in a tight hug.

Her stomach shifts uneasily, and she notices her hands are pinching into her skin. Allura releases her fingers, but then can't figure out what to do with her hands as she waits for Romelle to return. Instead, they clasp and unclasp each other as if in constant need of touch and reassurance.

“You here again, Pinky?”

Allura turns to the only other cell that’s inhabited. They haven’t captured many prisoners aside from the Alteans during their journey. Ezor, Zethrid, and their Olkarion partner were the exceptions. The Olkarion had quickly pledged allegiance to the ATLAS, while Ezor and Zethrid maintain their neutrality and were awaiting their trial back on Earth. In Zethrid’s case, it was a safer option as Krolia would have quickly sliced the other Galra’s throat for what she had done to her son.

“Don’t waste your breath on her, love,” Zethrid says, leaning back against the glass case of their cell. “She’s obviously here to try and make nice with the other pointy-eared people.”

“Those Alteans?” Ezor tilts her head, then begins twirling her finger next to her ear. “They’re more touched in the head than a Krongegg.” 

“It’s from all the thinking,” Zethrid adds, turning away from the scene to rest her chin on her fist. “Not enough fighting will drive anyone mad.”

“Still, I don’t remember them being that _radicalized_ when we were working with Lotor - EEP!”

Ezor leaps back when Allura lunges toward the cell, banging on the glass. “What did you say?”

Her demand startles the ex-generals, causing them to shift their footing. Ezor exchanges a look of confusion with Zethrid, and Allura slams her fists against the glass again. A petal from the flower clutched in her hand falls from its stem, drifting to the floor.

“Explain yourself!” Allura demands and Ezor shrugs nonchalantly. 

“The colony in the Quantum Abyss where Lotor housed the Altean refugees,” she explains, crossing her arms over the front of her jacket. She squints the eye not covered by an eyepatch, looking skeptical. “I know you’ve heard about it since it’s what caused your dumb lovers quarrel that sent the entire universe into free-fall deca-phobes ago.”

“Of course I know, Romelle told us. But I hadn’t known that Lotor brought his generals - that you’ve been there!”

“Acxa never told you?” Zethrid makes a noise in the back of her throat, shaking her head. “Seems she’s still holding his secrets for him after all these years.”

“She does have her soft spot for half-Galra boys with flippy hair,” Ezor sneers.

Allura is about to press further when she feels a sudden chill in the air. Her skin prickles as if washed through with ice water. When a translucent hand ripples through the air, breaking through the veil of reality,  to grasp her own. The contact overwhelms her with the sensation of having every warm feeling and thought sucked out of her very soul.

She sees a slight shimmer as if the air in front of her is being warped and twisted before her very eyes. The chill seeps deeper into her bones, the pressure on her hand as real as when Romelle had held it earlier. 

At first, the ghost a whisper like the soft susurration of the wind in the trees, then as it became more apparent, more sharply focused, the space before her shifts. The Galra Prince from her imagination comes to life in the form of broad shoulders, strong arms, ears, and hair she would recognize anywhere.

Lotor’s face is a striking contrast to the handsome vision she is used to haunting her halls. Now, his translucent face is hollow, strands of silvery hair fall in front of gaunt soulless eyes. 

“Lotor…” she breathes, and he turns to her. His eyes widen, almost shocked that she’s finally seeing him, that their connection hasn’t been broken after all.

Ezor puts her hand on her hip, her metal leg extends out in impatience. “Yeah, Lotor. Who else would I be talking about?”

Allura’s eyes slide from the ghost of the man before her to the Galra woman, then back again. He’s not visible to anyone else but her. However, when his hand brushes against the juniberry, the petals move along the ridges of his claws. 

_“I’m unsure if you can hear me, but whatever you do, you must not - “_

“Allura?”

She spins at the sound of her name, and Romelle appears a few steps away. Her eyes are half-lidded, a natural smile rests on her face. She extends her hand out for Allura to take.

“There you are,” she says, her accent giving the ends of her words a familiar curl. “We’re ready for you, Princess. You mustn't keep your subjects waiting.”

Allura nods, disregarding the phantom’s voice and going back to the warm embrace of Romelle. The blonde laughs dryly when she gathers Allura in her arms but pulls back when she notices something.

“Oh no,” she sighs, lifting up Allura’s wrist. “Your flower...it’s wilted.”

Allura blinks, her mind feels foggy again now that Romelle is back, but when she glances down she sees the other woman is right - the petals that were a bright pink a moment ago are now a withered brown. 

Romelle lifts her chin. “No matter. When we return to the colony, you’ll be able to grow all the juniberries you’d like, just on Altea.” 

Another flash of coolness rolls Allura as Romelle takes her by the hand to lead her to the end of the hallway. As they approach the door at the end of the hall, Allura’s certain this has happened sometime before. The scene unfolding before her feels increasingly familiar.

Then in that fleeting moment of familiarity, she’s reminded of when her father’s ghost, his AI that had haunted the castle. But that was different, Romelle is as real as flesh and bone, and is proof that Allura isn’t alone anymore. That she isn’t the last of her people.

That point is proven again when they reach the cell, and the captured Alteans press up against the glass, eagerly awaiting her visit. 

After the reunion, Allura allows herself to be led through the winding halls of the ATLAS. Behind her, Romelle holds her shoulders tightly, steering her like a ship in the dark.

"Did you see how excited everyone was to see you?" Romelle whispers, her breath hot against the shell of Allura's ear. "We can meet even more Alteans, too."

"There are...more?"

"Of course, you silly rakagoose! At the colony!"

She turns and catches Romelle's eyes, their deep sunset hues pulling her closer. Allura isn't sure why she's ever doubted Romelle before, the other woman has her best interest at heart. She's also kind and reliable. Romelle even helped her see the truth about -

_"Stop!"_

Lotor's voice grabs her attention. This time he's floating beside them. Reaching out again, his hand misses as Romelle pushes her to turn another corner.

_"You must wake up!”_

She can make out hints of the amber in his eyes. They’re wide with grief, trying to get her attention. As if sensing his presence, Romelle holds her hands tighter as they emerge into a familiar hallway. Next to Colleen Holt’s nursery is a door to the laboratory where Sam Holt has been working on the discoveries they’ve been uncovering about Honerva and her wayward pilots.

Glancing over her shoulder, Romelle gives her a comforting wink before taking Allura’s hand and pressing it against the keypad.

“It’s easier that way,” she explains, tugging her into the empty laboratory. 

The ceiling lights have been disconnected since the “slimeball incident,” and only a few desk lamps illuminate the tiny space. A whiteboard with scribbles in handwriting she recognizes as Coran’s and Pidge’s sits against one of the walls. In the middle of the room sits a long table with tool benches down both sides. Romelle pulls her along, and they pass the jumble of items resting on its surface. It’s a cacophony of microscopes, arc welders, circuit boards, microchips, wires, and an assortment of technological parts in a box labeled _“Weird Altean Stuff”_ in a chicken-scratch scrawl that very clearly belongs to Matt Holt.

“Why have you brought me here?” Allura asks when they reach the far end of the room where a bare wall meets them. “The Holts are all at the Clear Day festivities.”

“We wouldn't be able to go where we needed if the Holts were here,” Romelle explains. She stares at the wall in front of them, eyes dark and severe. More stern than Allura has ever seen her.

“Romelle, are you alright?”

The blonde is still for a moment, her eyes transform, shining with every shade the sky possesses from dawn until dusk. Then her pupils explode to fill her eyes, the black of death eclipsed by the sun. 

Romelle’s face moves a little too slowly as if she’s taking in the surroundings more than anything else. 

Then she grins. 

Allura feels the temperature in the room fall. Even in the dim light of the lab, she spots the other woman’s bared teeth. Bright, sparkling, but sharp like a ripsaw.

It’s cheshire grin, the kind that’s so wide, it’s more as if she wants to devour Allura than answer any of her questions.

 _“Run!”_ Lotor’s baritone ripples through her psyche.

But Allura can’t process what she’s seeing, her brain desperately scrambling to make sense of Romelle's twisted features. Romelle presses her hand against the wall,  and the tile shifts inward and clicks. Soft blue light activates beneath their boots, and soon the floor retracts revealing a small, spiral staircase. It’s a secret passageway.

She's left speechless, temporarily incapacitated as she looks back to Romelle.

“My my...there’s certainly a lot the humans haven’t told you, isn’t there?”

Allura's silent as Romelle descends the staircase into the depths of the ATLAS. It’s not unheard of for a ship of this magical fortitude to contain secrets - but she isn’t used to not knowing them.

The stairs lead to a small room whose walls are lined with monitors and beeping machines. In the middle of it all is a large, glass container with three purple spirits. Instantly, Allura recognizes them as the rift creatures she removed from the Altean pilots Tavo, Ephraim and Reks.

"What _is_ all this?" she gasps, hand on her chest and she takes a step back. 

Romelle turns to her slowly, almost bored. "The humans are experimenting on the power or the dark entities, lifted from the bodies of our fellow Alteans."

"I don't understand," Allura shakes her head. "Why is it hidden? Sam and the Holts...they wouldn't-"

"Oh, but they would," Romelle motions widely. "Look around! This ship was nothing but metal until the core of your home was used to fuel it. The same for the Black Paladin's arm, it was useless until you sacrificed your gemstone."

Romelle gently cups Allura's cheek, her hand cold to the touch. The pad of her thumb caresses the pink mark below her eye softly. "They’re draining you, Princess."

Allura swallows hard, trying to look away but she can't. The evidence is clear, right in front of her face. Once again, Romelle's skepticism is proven correct.

"Taking every bit of your power, your position, your worth for their own gain, just like _Lotor_ ," she snarls, making Allura finch and yank away her hands. "But you can be better than them."

Romelle steps back, turning to place her hand against the glass of the container. The room gives her an ominous aura, as she’s backlit by the purple hue of the creatures.

"Accept the entities and use them to unlock powers unimaginable. You can connect to all the colonists and bring us home," Romelle turns, one hand outstretched with the other still firmly placed on the container. "You can be our rightful Queen."

 _"NO!"_  

A cold chill ripples across Allura's skin as a large hand grabs hers tightly. Her palms tingle in the grip, but it only takes a second to see Lotor, breaking through whatever barrier to make this small connection.

"Lotor!" Allura gasps, stunned by their physical touch. 

"Lotor?!" Romelle sneers, her face twisting again as the name rolls around her mouth. "He's gone!"

 _"I'm not gone yet_ ," he huffs, still as petty as ever. _"Allura, you must not accept those entities, it's a direct connection to the witch. She will use them to track your location and destroy you, Voltron and anyone close to you!"_

"But Romelle-"

“You mustn't hesitate now,” Romelle’s voice floats, hooking her back into reality. “You can save us.” 

_"She’s being used."_

Allura worries her lip as she looks at the container. Once again she's faced with more questions than answers. 

_"Please, Allura."_

She studies his eyes, voice low enough so only he can hear. "I demand to be told the truth. I must know before I can trust you again."

Her demand doesn't seem to surprise him as if he was expecting her to ask. The expression on his face makes her stomach tighten, she hates how well they can read each other even through this barrier. 

_"I will, but you're not safe here."_

She holds his hand tighter. "Then take me somewhere safe."

The corners of his mouth tick up, a familiar smirk she's memorized and embroidered into her heart for deca-phoebes. It makes her pulse quicken, but she gathers her nerves, fully turning away from Romelle to lace her fingers through his. Energy thrums beneath her hands, and Lotor feels more corporeal than she imagined.

“You will be safe,” Romelle promises, eyes darkening. She reaches for Allura. "Are you ready?" 

Allura’s hand never leaves Lotor’s as the world blurs around them. The universe spins and swirls together like smudged paint on a canvas. She holds tight, trusting him to guide her. The phantom nods.

_“Here we go."_

Lotor’s voice is the last thing she hears before she's pitched forward into blackness.

 

* * *

 

Keith is gay.

Well, that changes the game, doesn't it? 

Lance leans back into the buggy, hand covering his mouth in a lame attempt to hide his embarrassment. He’s known Keith for _years_ , he’s been in the guy’s mind-space, they’ve formed the wings of a giant robot together - and he’s never once picked up on this bombshell. It especially doesn’t align with the narrative he’s already woven about Keith.

“What about Acxa?” Lance finally asks, voice cracking. 

Keith groans. “What about her?”

“Aren’t you two like... _a thing?_ ” 

When Keith doesn’t respond, Lance touches the pads of his index fingers together. He taps them a few times for emphasis before Keith swats them away.

“Put your hands down, we aren’t _a thing_!” 

“Does she know that? Cause she was all up on you when we were captured on that ship.”

“Yes, because she definitely has _a thing_ for your sister.”

Okay, Lance should've seen that coming. Fair.

Still, it feels like someone just pointed out an elephant that's been sitting in the room with them for ages. Lance swallows hard, trying to calm himself down as he looks back in their friendship for the signs he clearly missed.

"Hey."

A knee nudges him hard in the leg. When Lance looks up its Keith's intense glare staring back at him, the tops of his cheeks a little flushed.

"You better not be having a gay freakout on me," Keith warns, arms crossed tightly over his armor. 

"I'm not!"

"Good, cause I'd hang you over the edge of this ride by your ankles if you did."

Lance's shoulders stiffen. "Why would you ever think this would freak me out?"

"I dunno, you're always going on about girls and A-" he stops himself with a cough. Keith shrugs. "Look, it doesn't matter. I thought my deal was pretty obvious, but I guess it wasn't to you. I just don't want you to see me any differently."

Lance feels his insides melt like an ice cube dropped on a hot stove. 

"Now you're the real idiot," he says, shoving their shoulders together. "You've already come out as an actual _alien,_ and that didn't change how I ragged on you. Being gay is, like, normal by comparison."

He can tell Keith is starting to relax by the smile creeping onto his face. In the back of his mind, he wonders if he should confess his own uncertainty with his sexuality. Then he remembers that the reason for his bisexual crisis is sitting right next to him. 

The thought of the Keith discovering the messy, tangled feelings that he's still trying to figure out terrifies Lance.

Veronica recognized Lance’s feelings, but if Keith found out, he wouldn't just tease him like she did. What if it made him uncomfortable enough to avoid Lance? To leave Voltron all together?  

In their early days with Voltron, Keith stressed how lost he’d felt and how desperate he’d been to find a place where he belonged. Even if he did confess to Lance he left to give him a chance to shine, Lance knew that couldn’t be the entire reason. Being around Galra warriors gave Keith a place where he felt like he belonged. Sure, he’d found a family with the paladins, but now that he’d reunited with his mother, it‘s only a matter of when the war ends before he left them for the Blade full-time. 

Imagining Keith leaving the team again for literally anything bothers him, but losing him entirely and being the cause is something he doesn't even want to imagine. It doesn’t matter who Keith is attracted to, Lance knows he isn’t enough to make Keith stay. And dropping his heart in the other boy's lap while he's in the midst of sexuality crisis will probably complicate whatever new stress Keith is obviously already upset about.

The last thing they need is Lance throwing this entire new reality to hell because of his own complicated feelings over Keith. He still needs to figure out a way to get Lotor and Slav out of the Rift Between Realities. Being the star of his own romance drama is not the best use of his time.

“I never really came out _like that_ to the team,” Keith mumbles, finally turning to give Lance a ghost of a smile. It’s not much, just tugs on the corners of his lips. “Sorry, if I ever made you think that Allura was an option for me. She definitely isn’t.”

Lance tilts his head. “If that’s the case, then why do you get all mad when I bring her up? Are you guys fighting again?”

He rubs the back of his neck, glove tangling in the ends of his hair. The way it curls around his fingers is almost hypnotic. “It’s complicated.”

“I still don’t get it, but okay,” Lance says, more stubborn than anything. “Still, doesn’t explain why you’ve been acting like such a jerk today.”

Keith turns to him with an intense look. It's like he can see right through him, see all the secrets he's been hiding. As he continues to stare, Lance shifts in his seat suddenly nervous at what Keith might say. 

He must already know and is planning his escape. His eyes glimmer in the orange backdrop of the ride, and he has no business being so handsome in this awful lightning.  And...oh crap, maybe he’s not that confused about his feelings, and he has a _crush_.

It’s one thing to maybe have soft feelings for Keith.

It’s another for Lance to realize that he could have soft feelings for men.

It’s an entirely different beast to find out that Keith is exclusively interested in men.

Does he...have a shot?

Instead of saying anything helpful, Keith turns away. He crosses his arms with an irritated huff.

“Dude, seriously?!” Lance shrieks. “What the hell did I do to make you so pissy?”

Keith ignores him as the song around them starts up again.

 

_Underground is where we stay,_

_Waiting for the time to say,_

_Clear Day!_

 

The song goes through two more verses before his resolve cracks. Lance's worry outweighs his pride, and he sits up, boots stomping on the floor of the ride. 

"Keith!” he demands, pulling the other around by the armor to face him. His eyes are wide with surprise, probably from Lance’s manhandling. “I just need to know you’re okay, man.”

Keith’s mouth twists, his eyebrows furrowed into an unreadable expression. It makes Lance panic more.

"I like you, Keith. Please talk to me,” he practically begs. “I want to be fri-" 

Keith's lips smash into Lance's hard enough to bruise. His thoughts blur together, much like his words had moments ago, into something unintelligible and messy.

His stomach drops like he’s missed a step on the stairs. Every nerve in his body lights up, from his toes to the tips of his ears. He’s kissed plenty of girls before, but those moments have never felt this fierce. 

The warnings from Lotor float from the back of his mind - _The timeline is moving to a new plateau._ Maybe in his former life in the other reality, Keith was gay, but Lance doesn’t remember if he was or not. Maybe Lance was stuck on this ride with Allura, or perhaps not. Lance isn’t even sure if he ever questioned who his heart could be attracted to in his former reality.

Lotor told him to do the opposite of what he did before, but he’s a man without a plan. He’ll never know if he’s making different choices because that reality is not only lost, it’s irrelevant. He’s been given another chance at not only saving the universe but also at living his life.

Since being flung into this reality, he's been so hyper-aware of how very fragile this whole timeline is that he never once took into account that Keith Kogane is the most impulsive and reckless being in every reality.

And Lance is hurtling after him, like he always does, falling together into the unknown.

He tilts his head and lets Keith reach his hands to cup his face, his hand surprisingly warm. Keith caresses his thumb against Lance's cheek, making him inhale sharply through his nose at the gentle pressure. It's a tender motion, one Lance wasn't even sure Keith was capable of doing. 

He hardly has a moment to react before Keith presses his tongue to the seam of his lips and delves inside when Lance relents. It makes his heart surge in his chest at the sensation.

It's a very sloppy kiss with the strong scent of carnival meat in the intermingling of their billowing breaths. Lance's arms reach up and tangle around Keith's neck, fingers twisting in his hair and knotting between his gloved fingers.

The ride lurches forward, ripping them apart and tossing them back into the buggy as it starts to move again, shaking and bumping along the tracks. Lance is a little breathless and flushed, but glancing across the seat, Keith doesn't look much better. 

His heart races in his chest, still unsure how to process what just happened and how...good it felt. Really good. 

Lance swallows hard. "Keith...I-"

He's interrupted by another lurch of the ride. They almost topple over the barrier bar, knocking the wind out of them.

_"Apologies passengers, seems we aren't fixed after all-"_

"That's it! I'm out of here!" Keith roars with gritted teeth and transforms his bayard to slash the barrier bar in two. He leaps from the car, making a beeline for the exit.

"Keith!" Lance calls after him, climbing over the wreckage to jump across the tracks. He sprints to catch up with the other man. "You can't just break out like a bat out of hell!"

"It was already broken!" He argues over his shoulder. When he can't seem to find the exit, he slashes at the tarp of the tent to create one. Bystanders watch as Keith kicks open the material so they both can exit.

Lance feels his face flush at the sudden attention. "Heh heh...nothing to see here, folks! But the ride is broken, so you may want to go elsewhere."

The attendees make a collective sound of disappointment before dispersing. Lance turns away from the crowd to where Keith is marching away. 

"Keith, hold up!"

He weaves through the crowd, ducking between alien appendages and hopping between shorter attendees that squirm between his legs. Somehow Keith makes this look easy, storming through shoulder first. People break for him like he's parting the Red Sea.

Lurching forward, Lance manages to grab Keith’s forearm, but just as he’s about to demand an explanation, he’s being pulled back himself.

“There you guys are! We’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

When he turns around, he sees Hunk's nervous face. Next to him, Pidge stands with an armful of colorful lion plushies. Keith pulls his arm from Lance’s grip, turning to their teammates.

“Why?” he asks, looking at Pidge. A thick brow perks, curious. “Did you win all those?”

“I’m _really_ good at games,” She begins to brag, but Hunk cuts her off with a growl of frustration.

“We don’t have time for this! We need to get everyone back to the ATLAS!”

“Oh, I think I see Shiro and Adam!” Pidge says, shoving the stuffed animals into Keith’s arms before running off to get them.

“Hunk, what is going on?” Lance demands, already feeling the pit fall in his stomach. Hunk runs his hands through his hair, nearly undoing his bandana.

“We got a distress signal from ATLAS,” he says, looking between Keith and Lance. “Something’s happened to Allura.” 

**Author's Note:**

> And we're off!
> 
> Each chapter will be named after a song that encompasses the mood of the story at that moment.
> 
> The playlist is as follows (so far):
> 
> 1\. "Flashback" - MIYAVI  
> 2\. "Countdown" - Beyoncé  
> 3\. "Heart-Shaped Hologram" - Stephanie Mabey  
> 4\. “Back In Your Head" - Tegan and Sara  
> 5\. "Shine" - James Landino  
> 6\. "We Run This" - Missy Elliott  
> 7\. "Girls / Girls / Boys" - Panic! At The Disco  
> 8\. "Love Rollercoaster" - Red Hot Chili Peppers  
> Follow me on Twitter: @Astro_Latte and Tumblr: astrolatte.tumblr.com


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